Jewel in the Rough
by Dark Ryuu
Summary: Hoshiko, based off of Molly, has always been a bit of a tomboy and when she joins a new company, she's placed with the very chaotic Julius. Tempers flare as this duo is forced to work in the same office...and maybe something else? Alternate Universe. Interchangeably Story 7 or 8 in the Legacy series.
1. Roles Reversed

**Chapter 1** : Roles Reversed

 **Disclaimer for 'Jewel in the Rough':** I don't own Harvest Moon or any of the characters that come directly from the series. I do hold some claim over their offspring, however.

 **2018 Author's Note:** _Boy HOWDY,_ is this a problematic piece of work.

Some of it was just sheer _cringe worthy_ and it's one of those things I guess I needed to get older for but damn. Lot of slurs and super generalized gendering and, by God, I'm still not certain it has the best 'message'. And Julius is an asshole XD All that said, it has its moments and the ones I very well could not live with 9-10 years later, I updated.

One last interesting note if you've read my stories previously: I cannot explain to you have much technology has changed since 2008-2009. To me, it was _always_ going to be like a slightly techier flip phone and a music device of some sort. Now we're walking around with mini-computers at all times. So, you may come across stuff in the older stories like 'wtf, Ryuu, who the hell still uses that?'. I am _slowly but surely_ updating to now since this is WAY in the future. I don't know what we'll _have_ in the future and I can't say I'll keep updating with every groundbreaking invention but at least we're updated for now.

 **2008-2009 Author's Note:** Okay…I was writing Kyo's story and realized…well, Chapter 3 gives away almost this complete story O.O So year, I guess Kyo's story is on hiatus until this one catches up. Though I'm not sure why I'm so concerned, Jyun's story gave away everything for both stories, pretty much XD But alas, here we go.

This one is about Hoshiko, Jyun and Kyo's little sister. For those new to the series, Jyun, Kyo, and Hoshiko are the children of Nerimaru (Nelly), who is based off the farmer SLIGHTLY and owns the farm from BTN. He is married to Elli.

It'll be rough because as I said, 'This Love', the Roomi (Luna) and Jyun story, gave away a lot of plot lines in both Kyo's story 'Lessons In Life' and this one. And also, if you ARE one of those new people…prepared to be rather confused. I won't dissuade you from reading, just know that the current stories all kind of…help. There's an extravagant amount of characters so yea, good luck XD

For now, happy reading! I kind of took elements from the original game that would obviously be cut when translated into English…you know, the whole…transvestite thing. (Roomi apparently calls Julius this in the Japanese version a couple times n.n; ) So beware if that kind of thing offends you…

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"…You're Yagami Hoshiko?"

Hoshiko bit back growling as her superior seemed startled. Yes, yes she was. What of it?

He stared her over for a long moment before smiling quickly, "Well, uh, anyway, welcome to Roshinko Day. We're glad to have you join the team."

She betted. "Thank you for having me. I promise to work my hardest…but, um, if you don't mind me asking, how is Mira-san?"

The man sighed, waving her on to lead her somewhere. She followed as he shook his head, "She's crushed. Vanille was her pride and joy."

Right out of college, Hoshiko had been offered a job at a company, Vanille. It was a small company, slowly trying to reach the zeal of its mother company, Roshinko Day. The owner of Vanille was the CEO of Roshinko Day's wife. She was a passionate, sensitive woman…and her husband summed it up perfectly, how she felt about Vanille: It was her child.

…But unfortunately, it wasn't Roshinko Day and was forced to file bankruptcy.

The woman, a sweetheart to the extreme, got her husband to hire all the employees lost into what area he could. And even more awesome was that she especially mentioned Hoshiko to her spouse and that she could do much for the company. Hoshiko wasn't sure what and she was pretty sure he was just humoring his wife in her time of grief but Hoshiko would show him.

"Did Mira tell you about our nephew that works here?" the man suddenly questioned.

"…No. Was she…supposed to?" Hoshiko questioned, trying to keep the snippy, 'why should I care?' comment and tone of voice shut away.

"Oh, I suppose not. You'll just be sharing an office with him" laughed the man nervously.

…Okay, yea, she should care. "…Uh, is he…nice?"

"…He's…a character" he cleared his throat, coming closer to a set of doors.

…Oh God.

Opening the door, he cleared his throat, "Julius, um, your new office mate is here…"

Hoshiko walked in, planning to bow respectfully. She should have expected this, honestly. You really couldn't pick up three hundred new employees that you probably don't need and have room for all of them.

But as soon as they caught eye of each other, they both…gaped.

"…Oh my God, are you a lesbian?" and "…Are you a crossdresser?" echoed in time over each other.

Roshinko Eo stared between them as they continued to stare at each other, confused, and he cleared his throat, "I'll…uh, leave you two to get to know each other."

He quickly fled and Hoshiko swallowed, staring him over. He was probably 5'10", a decent height, indeed, but…that wasn't what knocked her senseless.

…He was wearing red pants with strange diamond silver stitching, a green belt, a pink shirt, a yellow scarf, and a pink and purple striped jacket with black fur on the bottom and the collar, and a pair of white and yellow shoes. His hair was way long, layering down his back in a ponytail, and purple with yellow and green highlights. And…he had heart shaped earrings.

…Yep, her boss was right: that was pure character right there.

The man propped his hands on his hips, staring over her, up and down, "…Aunt Mira usually has a sharp eye. I have to wonder this time."

She stiffened but didn't miss a beat, "I don't know who you are to question someone's 'eye' with that outfit."

His red eyes, which reminded her a lot of her Aunt Popuri's, narrowed, remarking almost snidely, "So what's your name again?"

"Yagami Hoshiko."

"Mm, that's too girly. Maybe you should just stick with 'Hoshi'" he snorted.

…Jesus Christ, she _just_ met this idiot!

Hoshiko wore men's clothing. It just was what she did. Her dress shirt was huge, she had on a decent sized blazer, and a pair of billowing pants. And her hair…she had no time to wake up an hour early to prep curls or straighten locks, she kept her golden brown hair cropped to her head. Jewelry was useless. Even though her mother had gotten her ears pierced young, she never wore earrings. Useless.

She glared at his name tag…Shimizu Julius.

Slamming down at the desk that she assumed was hers, she went to work researching the company. She glanced up at Julius who was sketching something. She was in the jewelry department…

…Didn't she just say jewelry was useless? Sure it was useless, but…she kind of liked how beautifully useless it was. Did that make sense? She…loved it. She just couldn't seem to pull it off herself…

"How long do you plan to be at RD?" demanded Julius suddenly.

"I don't know" she shrugged.

"Hmph, maybe I can get Uncle Eo to reconsider. This is a _stylish_ company, after all" he grumbled.

Hoshiko smiled in a fake sweet manner, "Then I'd have to ask him to reconsider you being here too, Shimizu-san."

He looked up and glared at her and she glared back…

…This should be interesting indeed.

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 _Hoshiko skipped behind her brothers who were following their father…the man glanced back at them and smiled some, crossing up the paths into the mines. Kyo, her older brother, stuck out his tongue at her._

" _EWW, why are you following? We're doing guy stuff!"_

 _She stomped her foot in all her seven-year-old glory, "I can do guy stuff too!"_

" _Boys do guy stuff, stupid" Kyo countered._

 _Kyo got thumped lightly in the head by their father, "If your sister wants to come with us, she can come with us."_

 _Hoshiko proudly stuck out her tongue and Kyo pursed his lips, face drawing a little. Nelly wandered into the opening and Hoshiko looked around in the dark space. Squealing, she nearly tripped over a rock. Jyun, her oldest brother, caught her at ease and steadied her on her feet._

" _Be careful, it's hilly."_

 _She nodded and he wandered off, following their father down the cavern into the lower level. When they got to their apparent destination, she sat on a rock and watched her dad search for stray minerals he needed for the farm. After a while though, she started to regret her choice. So boring!_

" _Baby, come here" her father suddenly called._

 _Pouting, hating being his 'baby', she wandered over to him and he knelt, picking her up in one arm. She scowled, ready to demand what he was doing when he pointed a dirt smudged finger at something. Frowning, she followed his hand and gasped. A large purple jewel was embedded in the side of the wall along with some rubies._

" _Daddy, it's so pretty!" she proclaimed._

 _He chuckled, "If I had a pick, I'd try to get them out for you, sweetie, but it's a lot of work. And they're not very refined."_

" _What does 'refined' mean?" she questioned._

" _Mm, it's when they take this jewel and make it into a nice, shiny shape for jewelry or whatever. Right now, it's just kind of natural and no one would want it this way…"_

" _It's still pretty though!" she protested, "It doesn't need any fixing."_

 _Nelly kissed her temple, reaching up and fingering the jewel, "I think you're right. When a jewel's in the rough like this, where it was born in nature, I think it's prettiest of all."_

 _Hoshiko hugged her dad's neck then. She didn't get along with her family as well now. She…really couldn't stand how…happy they were. Ugh, that sounded so awful though. She really deserved to have no one with that train of thought…_

… _But what her dad said then would stick with her for eternity, a jewel in the rough. For years after that, she went back every day to make sure someone hadn't removed it from that place. As of seven years ago, it was still there._

 _And at 24-years-old, she still kind of hoped it still was._


	2. Cold Hard

**Chapter 2:** Cold Hard

 **Author's Note:** You might actually get a third chapter tomorrow! XD But this overlaps with This Love, Chapter 2 "Sugar Daddy".

Enjoy!

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"I'm in…over my head."

It was a brisk day as she sat at her desk, staring at all the fashion designs that Jackass Julius and the rest of her coworkers had designed with disdain. Damn it, why were they better?!

…It had been a month. A long, long month.

Her coworkers hated her, something of a continuation from Vanille. Hoshiko despised working with people. She didn't particularly have anything against people, she just preferred to do things by herself because _everyone_ had an opinion in a group. And when everyone had an opinion, other's opinions, particularly hers, were ignored. So when she forced others to listen to her, oh, she was a self-righteous bitch. Word spread and by the end of the day, even the front desk man and doorman thought she was a malevolent evil doer.

Oh, and Julius? Julius was lucky she hadn't stabbed him in the crotch.

She would think a guy that could come to work in a orange ruffled shirt with a black and red pin-stripped long coat would be a little less willing to make fun of her for dressing in at least a monotone suit but no. He demanded to know if she had boobs. She turned the question back on him. He questioned if she had a…man part. Again…

He made fun of her, basically put. She didn't need her coworker to make fun of her, that's why she had damn brothers!

Staring at her sketches, she cried into her hands, exasperated. Ugh, what was she going to do? She wasn't feeling creative whatsoever! …She was going to let Mira's high expectations down…

…She needed a creative boost.

Looking at her phone, she bit her lip. He had tons and tons of files of women modeling, modeling clothing with jewelry as accessories or accessories alone. And high quality stuff, not a random Google image search. She wasn't going to steal those designs but…but maybe they could give her an idea?

…Hoshiko _hated_ the idea of calling him, of admitting that she needed his help. She hated admitting that to _anyone_ but him? The original Julius II? The one that called her a lesbian and whatever else out of maliciousness and gendering?

Biting her lip, she felt all the inadequacies of failing a job that she just started. She couldn't fail. Mira had faith in her. All her coworkers from Vanille had cubicles while she'd elevated her to an office…albeit with an asshole, but it was an office! No…no, she'd swallow her pride…

Sighing, she fished through her contacts and gulped, clicking the number. She hadn't talked to him in probably six months and he'd probably tell her to go to hell…

"Hello…?" said a sleepy voice.

She rolled her eyes, "Do you know what time it is? And you're _still_ asleep?"

She heard the creak of his bed as he apparently sat up, muttering in a raspy voice, "Good to hear from you too, Hoshiko. To what do I owe the pleasure, baby sister?"

Scowling, Hoshiko tapped her fingertips against the table at the café in the downstairs. Yagami Jyun, her playboy, lazy, oldest brother who was still asleep at 1:30 p.m.. He worked as a freelance photographer in the modeling agencies. His work was great, that's what got her the most…

"I…I…well, uh, are you doing a gig right now?" she questioned, nervous.

"For a year" he yawned.

This surprised her. "A year…? You never stay at a place for a year."

"It's a weird deal. I owe the owner a favor" he mumbled with the sound of a refrigerator opening in the background, "Now I know you, you don't call to chit-chat. What's up?"

"Why, I can't call to talk to my beloved oldest brother?" she questioned, her voice laden with sarcasm.

"Well, since you can't bother to talk to your entire family for _five_ years, if you did I'd think I was special" he returned the cynicism tenfold.

Hoshiko slouched in her chair and couldn't help the pout that crossed her face, "I've been busy."

"No one's _that_ busy. You just got out of college two years ago" he snorted.

"I do call" she growled, "Maybe I just don't want to be around all the family lovey dovey crap like the rest of you."

"Oh, do you? Weird since according to my handy phone says it's been five months since I've heard from you."

"Honestly, that's a month less than what I'd assumed."

Jyun snorted again, "Jeez."

"Look, when I feel like the sap in my life is missing, I'll show up for dinner or holidays or whatever. Right now I'm peachy" she grumbled.

"Whatever. What do you want?" he questioned shortly.

Hoshiko grimaced, knowing that tone. That tone meant he'd listen but probably would deny her for all he was worth and make her feel like the lowest scum possibly. Still…

"I, uh, I'm at Roshinko Day now. I'm sure you've heard since you're working around the business that Vanille closed. The owner got us all jobs at RD…"

She swallowed, hearing him guzzle down what she'd assume was orange juice, his favorite non-alcoholic beverage, continuing, "A-anyway, I need to introduce some sketches in two days and…and I'm out of energy. I don't have a lot of options and I…I was wondering if you had any…files I could look at from companies you've done work with? To…to help inspire some designs?"

"And what's in it for me?"

Hoshiko stiffened, hissing, "You're such a dick!"

"Name-calling's not going to influence me to help you, baby sister" he stated sarcastically, "I don't know, I'll have to look. I'll be honest with you: you have it tough. Jewelry isn't as big as it used to be."

Hoshiko frowned at this, "What do you mean?"

"Flashier clothes and the natural movement where the focus is all on the body? That's the trend right now. Less need for embellishments, y'know?"

"So…what are you suggesting?" she mumbled.

"I'd go earrings and rings. Necklaces, bracelets, not so much" he recommended, "And those usually don't show up well in my photos unless I'm specifically targeting them which I rarely do ring art but…I'll try to see what I can find."

"Are-are you sure though?" she questioned, nervous, "Rings and earrings?"

"Well, unless you can come up with something dynamic to make necklaces and bracelets more appealing. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste the time."

"I see…" she frowned, stroking her temple.

"I probably should start working on my project now. I'll see if I can get back to you later."

"I need them _soon_ , Jyun" she almost whined.

"Okay, okay, I'll work on it."

They clicked off and she stared at her phone before groaning. Her brother wasn't going to help her at all.

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…That was the ugliest thing she'd ever drawn in her life.

Staring at the necklace that looked like something out of an old sci-fi show, she shook her head. So here it was, 3 p.m. the next day…and no freakin' pictures. THIS is one reason she disliked her family. Useless!

Clenching what little hair she had, she sobbed. This was going to be so embarrassing, her portfolio was going to be empty when it came time for review. She'd kill Jyun…

Jumping, stunned, when her phone rang, she growled, picking up the line, "Hello?"

"Yagami Jyun's secretary is here to drop off some papers to you. Would you like to come get them or have me put them in the mailbox?" asked the front desk person.

Pretty miffed it took THIS long and that Jyun didn't just email her the pictures, she snarled, "No! I need them now! Send them up to me!"

Slamming the phone down, irritated about her brother's poor conception of time, she tapped her toe, anxious. She'd be up all night now, working on this. Ugh, and he sent his… _secretary?_ Who the hell in their right mind thought Jyun was important enough to have a _secretary_?

Julius, using model pieces to come up with his designs, looked up at her with a cocked brow for a moment before shaking his head and looking back down. She sulked. She hated people.

Glaring as someone knocked on the door, something workers at Roshinko Day wouldn't do, she grunted as she picked up her pencil, answering, "What?"

The sweetest, sugariest, girliest voice she'd ever heard in her life echoed on the other side of the door, "This is Seiwa Roomi. Jyun insisted I give these papers directly to you."

Oh, this should be delightful, she thought, annoyed. Amending that previous question, who the hell in their right mind gave Jyun a _female_ secretary? Like putting a kid in a damn candy store.

Gruffly, she grunted, "Fine! Come in."

Julius turned around to face his computer screen, clicking about, using Photoshop to work his designs. Hoshiko pouted. Damn her brother and this jerk, knowing how to use programs like that. She just sucked.

The door opened and Hoshiko started to look up after scribbling a shape out of anxiety…before she could even get a good look at her brother's secretary…

"Damn, you're butch."

Startled that that girly sugar-coated voice said something like that and to a STRANGER, no less, she looked up, glaring, "Excuse me?"

…Of course, when Hoshiko laid eyes on the girl, maybe the statement made a whole lot of sense coming from her perspective. Her hair was long and purple, of all things, like certain _other_ jerks, her eyes big and blue. She was wearing a pleated black skirt, a frilly white dress shirt, and a vest…and the fact that she was wearing four inch heels and only seemed to make it to 5'3" meant she was extremely short. So maybe this employer was smart. As far as she knew, her brother wasn't into the jailbait lolicon thing.

Still, where'd she get off calling her that? Eyes narrowing at the weird woman, this 'Roomi' cleared her throat though she ultimately didn't seem all that embarrassed about her comment. "Sorry…um, Yagami Jyun sent me and didn't seem to want me to just give this to anyone. Here…"

'Yagami Jyun'? What, did he not mention they were related? Feeling a bit upset about that, for whatever reason, she snatched the outstretched envelope away, muttering a half-hearted 'thanks'.

Hoshiko must have offended the tiny woman who stalked out of the office rather stormily. Hoshiko glowered. What? Did she want to chat?

"God, what is everyone's problem?" she muttered.

"I think you're the only one that's got a problem" sighed Julius airily.

"Good thing I didn't ask what you thought" she bit back.

Julius wheeled around, giving her a knowing look, "You just seem to have that kind of effect on people, _Yagami -_ san. Whatever the case may be, that woman took time out to drop that off to you personally and you still got an attitude with her. Being a bitch never got anyone very far in businesses like this. That's the kind of talent you need for television… _reality_ television."

Hoshiko gaped at him as he shrugged and turned back around, "Just my thoughts. But you're right, you didn't ask for them."

Hoshiko's gaze narrowed as she opened the folder. She bit her lip as she slowly looked at all the designs. Jyun had organized them by the year, by the company, by color…

…Damn it.

After a moment, she picked up her cell phone and texted him, feeling too sheepish to speak to him personally, a 'thank you'.

She grew irritated again when he didn't respond right away but started using the designs he'd sent. The clothing articles actually spurred more ideas than the jewelry itself, yielding more unique, individual designs. She felt relieved when she met the margin she needed for the day. Taking her Copic markers to play with colors, she jumped when her phone buzzed.

Picking up the cell, she clicked to read the message. Jyun responded: 'I was trying to help you. You didn't have to be mean to Roomi. She was helping me help you'.

Hoshiko stared at the phone for a long moment before setting it down. She grimaced as another message arrived, pressing the 'ok' button to read it.

'But you're welcome. Good luck. Come to dinner soon'.

Biting her lip, she rubbed her temples and felt kind of nauseous…

" _Being a bitch never got anyone very far in businesses like this…"_

It didn't seem to get her far in any other place either.

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Roshinko Eo stroked his chin thoughtfully, staring at the designs before looking at one in particular for possibly the ninth time.

"This one absolutely fascinates me" he suddenly gushed, "I can see this one on the catwalks, honestly."

Hoshiko smiled quickly, nervously, kneading her hands, "R-really?"

"Absolutely" he nodded, replacing the files in the folders, and handing them back to her though keeping that design, "Those designs, I think if you hone them a little more, I would definitely send them into production."

"Y-yes sir, I'll work on editing" Hoshiko rasped.

"Good, good. Yagami-san, I wanted to talk to you about something, however" he frowned.

Oh God. "Yes sir…?"

"Um, your…coworkers feel you're a bit…brazen…" he said slowly before inserting, "Don't get me wrong, in a company, you can't be ashamed and shy, you have to be bold to stand out above the rest. But I credit Roshinko Day with not having to stoop to having backstabbing and violent competition amongst its workers. This goal is one of the reasons I was able to take in Vanille's employees. I want the drive to create to overwhelm the drive to succeed. You don't have to be so…brisk, you know? Everyone has an equal chance here."

Hoshiko bowed lowly, "Yes sir, I-I understand. I will try to be more cordial from now on."

"That's all I ask" the man smiled, "I know it's not in some people's nature, I'm a bit of a loner myself in reality. But being at least semi-social gets you a long way."

She nodded again and he nodded back, "Good work, Yagami-san. I want to see this level of work from you always."

…Oh crap. She smiled quickly and nodded again, bowing, before taking her leave.

Well, despite that world on her shoulders, she was delighted. Practically skipping to her office, she slammed into her chair and did a little spin, feeling like…doing something. Julius, nibbling on the end of a pen, stared at her before snorting. "So Uncle Eo actually liked something you created?"

"Sure did" she said haughtily, "And even said if I hone these designs, it'll be great."

"Oh, how wonderful…" he said rather contrarily, "Are you going to text your brother the good news?"

Roomi cocked a brow, "Why would I?"

Julius looked up at her and shook his head, "Because whatever he gave you got you those designs…which I hope wasn't stealing."

She grunted, "He's a fashion photographer. He sent me pictures of color swaps and models and stuff, not jewelry."

"Mm. Then, again, shouldn't you thank him?"

"I already did, not that it's any of your business" she grumbled, turning to check her email.

"Oh, I feel bad for your brother, having a sister like you…"

"Yea, I feel bad for your siblings having a sister like you too" she grunted.

Julius didn't seem bothered, "I don't have any siblings."

"Oh really? Aren't you lucky?" she snorted.

A rather cool look crossed his face as he glanced at her for a long, chilling moment, before echoing.

"Am I?"

Hoshiko looked up at him, startled, as he wheeled around in his chair, holding his pen up and clicking it rather rapidly as if he were irritated.

…Okay?


	3. Necessary Changes

**Chapter 3:** Necessary Changes

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the adds and the reviews and whatnot XD I am officially done with school but it's looking to be a busy schedule…my niece may be coming to visit…and children are a handful, if you don't know. And I'm going to Canada o.O Yea…I'll try to rack out as much of this as I can. Enjoy! And this chapter is in line with Chapter 5 of 'This Love'.

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"…Your hair is crazy. Are you really Asian?"

Yagami Hoshiko looked up from her rough drafts and glared heatedly at Shimizu Julius who was staring at her weirdly. Huffing, she started to ignore him, but…

"My hair may have went back some generations in my family line…my family is American too."

"I see…"

It had been three months…three long, horrible, hellish months. Roshinko Day was a nice company, no doubt…it was just THIS guy.

Compared to this guy her brothers were doting marvelous little boys that would never call her names growing up. And besides that being an absolute lie, it was sad too. What was his problem, God!

Worse than that was Roshinko Eo had incorporated what he called 'coworker camaraderie'. People would be paired with someone and they'd both set a couple rules that would make them help each other and grow closer…and naturally, who else was she paired with but King Queen himself?

"You're going to get lunch everyday" he said simply.

"How about no?" she scowled.

He glowered, "SOMEONE has to get lunch!"

"Why don't we break the days up? You get Monday and Wednesday, I get Tuesday and Thursday, and then Friday, we'll just get our own lunch?" she grumbled.

Julius blinked rapidly before shrugging, "I guess I can handle that…"

She bought a dry erase board so that they could write what they wanted on any particular day…and yep, he brought her back the complete opposite of what she asked. If she asked for a chicken sandwich, he brought her back a fish filet. Jackass.

Roshinko Eo, so naïve, insisted that they have each other's cell phone number…why, God knew, but all she did know was that pansy liked texting and leaving her creepy messages all the time. Her retaliation for a while was sending him porn…with men. Course, once she sat down and thought about it, he probably liked it. However, he had looked fairly disgusted with her over it. Well worth it in any case…until he started sending her pictures of naked women.

…Yea, they both had had to call a truce on that one.

But she was so busy doing work, coming up with designs, and fighting back this womanish devil, she hadn't been able to go to her barber in nearly three or four months… and her hair was naturally kind of curly slash wavy, a horrid combination…

She had a barber who worked at Hitori that did her hair exactly like she wanted…then she had this other guy who didn't do it well at all and had once even left a patch missing in her hair. So…why not just go to Hitori?

…He was a pervert sleazebag. He groped her ass, slapped said spot, rubbed her thigh, suggested herbal remedies so her chest could get to a 'B'. Good barber, lousy man…it was one of the more interesting moments with her brother when she asked him to come with her, again one of the few times she admitted needing help.

" _Uh…why?"_

 _Hoshiko sulked, "Can you just PLEASE come with me? I swear, after this, I won't ask you again."_

 _Jyun Yagami twirled around in his computer chair in his apartment, this being maybe a year ago as he cocked a brow, "You know, you don't really have to go to a barber…"_

 _Her eyes narrowed and he quickly waved his hands, "So be it, so be it. Give me a second…"_

 _So she led him down to Hitori's place and the man looked Jyun over rather heavily._

"… _You need a haircut" he grunted, Jyun's hair past his shoulders._

" _I'll pass" her brother said dryly, sitting down._

 _The man huffed and Hoshiko sat in the chair, feeling safe that the man was holding back his actions back. She glared at Jyun who was actually cringing as her locks fell on the floor, strand by strand, until she had a nice crop cut…_

 _Satisfied, she stood and paid him. He glared up at Jyun who glowered back and Hitori grunted to her lowly. "Leave your hippy boyfriend at home next time, hun, it's more fun that way…"_

 _Hoshiko opened her mouth to retort something…but Jyun jumped her to it._

" _One, I am her BROTHER. And what the hell do you mean by that?" he snarled._

 _The man opened his mouth, "I'm just saying-"_

" _And I don't f—king like what you're saying! F—king mess with my sister, I'll cut you open!"_

 _Hoshiko was stunned, else she would have told Jyun to stop being so spazzy. Her family, the males in particular, tended to be…overprotective. Her Uncle Koji, her father's twin brother, once said it was because the Yagami and affiliate women tended to be…very attractive? And that, overall, they knew how men thought and knew they couldn't be trusted. Strange indeed, but wasn't something she'd expect to be extended from her brothers..._

So after that, she just couldn't bring herself to go back. But…she couldn't really afford to have poorly kept looking hair. Thus…time to go get Jyun who probably wasn't going to begin to comply. Maybe…maybe Kyo…or her dad…definitely not her mom, she'd start to sob and throw a hissy fit…

Hoshiko stood and glowered at Julius who was typing something, "I'm going to go get a haircut."

"Not a moment too soon…while you're at it, send your partner some flowers. I'm sure she's upset you decided to get all girly suddenly."

Hoshiko flicked his back off and grumbled, stalking out. UGH! She hated this!

…She'd put it plain and clear: she was not a lesbian. She had nothing against it whatsoever but that somehow the clothes she tolerated were getting her generalized into something she wasn't irritated her greatly. So what if she wore guy's clothes and wore her hair short and had a bold attitude? That didn't mean she was attracted to women!

…Course, with men like Julius and manwhores like her brothers, it sounded like she'd be better off if she was...

Swallowing as she walked into the magazine Jyun currently worked at called Kikanki, she asked the front door lady where she could find 'Yagami Jyun's' office. She received stares as she headed in that direction, flustering. Ugh, she should just become a pariah…

As she came to the door, she stiffened when she heard Jyun's secretary's voice…oh no…

"I mean, your work is great and all but there has to be something to actually waking up before 2 p.m." she apparently told her brother.

Hoshiko almost snickered. Seriously. Peeking in, she expected Jyun to be there…but his desk, apparently the big one, was empty…

Seiwa Roomi was sitting at her desk, legs propped up on the table...somehow, the phone pressed to her ear. Hoshiko sulked…ugh, personally she'd hoped never to see her again.

Roomi, seeming to forget about her butch comment, blinked at her, "Oh wow, you grew your hair out."

Hoshiko glowered a bit before looking around once more, just to make sure Jyun wasn't in the office, "Is Jyun here?"

"I'm on the phone with the idiot now" Roomi answered with a sigh

Hoshiko groaned. Meaning he wasn't there and she wasted a trip…Roomi played with the cord, glancing at her, "Your lazy ass brother wants to know why you're here."

Hoshiko scowled and crossed her arms. What did it matter? He wasn't there. But maybe he could meet her there… "I needed him to go to Hitori's with me. He'll know what I mean."

Roomi cocked a brow some but told him, "She said she needed you to go to Hitori's with her and that you'll know what she means."

Hoshiko nearly rolled her eyes, hearing her brother's voice from where she stood. Roomi sighed, "Stop going to sleaze ball barbers."

Very annoyed, Hoshiko slammed her foot, starting to march away, "Ugh! Whatever, I'll go myself!"

Hoshiko could hear 'the hell she will!' and Roomi rolled her eyes…she really couldn't blame the secretary, arguing between siblings. Frowning as her cell phone rang, she could have chucked it out the window when she saw it was Julius. This day was getting better and better! Answering, she grumbled, "Hello…?"

"Oi! Where's my lunch?!" he demanded loudly.

"I told you that I'm going to get my hair cut!" she growled. Besides, she left a note saying that she'd left the lunch in the refrigerator anyway. Maybe it wasn't hot…

"Oh, that's right. You have to maintain your husband-like appearance…" he said snidely.

"Shut up!"

"Now, now, I understand how important that must be in your relationship. Gender roles seem to be an essential in some cases…"

Hoshiko flushed, feeling very angry and irritated and upset and wanting to kill something, "I-I am not…I hate you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Clicking off, stuffing her phone in her pocket with a heavy sigh, she pursed her lips. She had to be the mature one but…she wished he'd stop…it…it wasn't funny anymore. At least Kyo and Jyun knew when to stop…

"Who was that?"

Hoshiko looked up and scowled, the questioned directed at her from Jyun's secretary who seemed curious. Not that it was any of her business ANYWAY, she thought bitterly.

UNTIL… "Is there a boy you like, hmm?" the purple haired woman asked with a smile.

Hoshiko could have passed out. Where did THAT come from?! Why would she be yelling at someone she liked? …And oh GOD, what if everyone at work thought something like that? Mortified, she flushed, blurting, "W-what?! No, I hate him! H-he's just like you were, calling me butch and manly and whatever else and I hate it!"

Roomi seemed to look her over thoughtfully before commenting, "I see…"

Hoshiko stiffened, wearing a tweed pantsuit that was rather comfortable though admittedly awkwardly loose on her. She commented further, knowing that look, "I-I don't have to dress girly to satisfy the chauvinists in the office!"

The woman blinked rapidly but slowly, giving her a 'are you serious?' look, before countering, "So you dress like said chauvinists as a way of saying…I can be just like you, hmm?"

This caught Hoshiko off guard…and rather puzzled her. What? No, nothing like that, just …why should she have to dress a certain defined way? And…and she did get more respect dressed this way…what was so wrong with that?

But Roomi shrugged, replying, "Everyone is judged by appearance, whether it's right or not or how much people tell you not to. It's just hard to stop, I guess, because your appearance kind of tells a story and it's the first thing you see. 'Don't judge a book by it's cover', sure, but the cover has to have made you pick it up. So what's your cover? Beside equaling men?"

...What she wore sold the story? It sounded materialistic and Hoshiko hated that. However, maybe that was the problem here anyway. To be honest, he didn't really like guy clothes. She just…wasn't all that comfortable in girl's clothes.

Shrugging, feeling awkward because she could slightly see her point, she remarked "I just wore guy clothes because I ran around with my brothers a lot when I was younger. It just became more comfortable, I suppose. I don't want to be uncomfortable while working…"

…Thing was, which one did Hoshiko hate more…being uncomfortable or being tortured? She didn't want to change for him but…

Roomi tapped her chin, "So it's just a comfort thing?"

…Yea, who was she kidding, she wasn't out to surmount gender roles…or was she? She didn't know what she was doing. Comfort sounded about right. "Pretty much…"

The secretary clapped her hands, smiling, "Then how about we make this guy eat his words, hmm? Go for a little shopping?"

…Really? Shopping with…her? Hoshiko hated shopping with a passion…but…well, maybe she could upgrade her wardrobe? And…Julius eating his words sounded really, really awesome somehow…

"I…I guess I don't mind. But I don't…don't do skirts." Just had to lay that on the line right there. Her legs were stick thin and nothing to be proud of.

Roomi treated it as no consequence, waving a hand as she went behind her desk and grabbed her purse, "Fine, fine."

Hoshiko followed after her sheepishly as the smaller woman fished through her purse and pulled out some rattling keys. She was just walking away?

"…Don't you have to work?" Hoshiko questioned.

"Your brother comes two days out of the week, I'm usually done within three hours and sitting here twiddling my thumbs" she snorted.

"Ah…" Figured.

Hoshiko was startled when they walked out not to get on a bus…but in a car. And not any car, a purple Volkswagen Beetle. Quite possibly the girliest thing she'd ever seen in her life.

Hoshiko, feeling kind of reluctant riding in a car with a complete stranger, climbed into the passenger seat and looked around. She had lacy seat covers and a purple polka dotted steering wheel cover…crazy. Hoshiko glanced at her before noticing…holy crap, she was short. She looked like she was going for a joy ride. Not able to fight it, she snickered. Roomi had started the car and gave her a quick glance before looking into her side mirror to back out of her parking spot, "What?"

"Nothing" Hoshiko coughed, "You just look…very kiddish."

The woman pouted at this statement, "I know I'm short, sheesh! Just seems like everyone in your family is tall. Kyo and Jyun are giants."

Hoshiko froze. She knew Kyo? What…? Wasn't she just Jyun's secretary? Unless Kyo was hanging out at the magazine…but she had to ask, "You've met Kyo…?"

Roomi was cautious merging onto a main street before nodding, "Uh huh, he's Jyun and my designated driver."

Hoshiko silently digested that. She wasn't sure why that bothered her so much, it wasn't that important. But knowing that her brothers were hanging out with a girl with possibly no intimate relations involved irked her. They never let her hang out with them…God, she was childish. Still…"They always treated me like crap but I guess you fit the 'one of the guys' persona more than I did."

But staring at the purple striped floor mats, she really didn't quite see that being the case either. Her brothers just hated her.

She disliked being the only daughter because it just was…well, a difficult position. She had wanted to be one of the guys but then she didn't at the same time. She wanted her brother's attention but they were loathe to give it to her. And her mother often came up with the excuse 'because you're a girl' when she asked why can't she go play football with them? Or why couldn't she have a tree house? And when she was younger, much like that memory of the mines, her brothers never neglected to point out that she was a girl, that she didn't belong. And when she got older, tried being more like a guy, they called her butch…there was just no winning.

"They were being bad ass little kids. I think the main purpose of an older brother is to pick on their little sister. It's just the order of things" Roomi responded, interrupting her sulking.

Maybe she was holding onto the past. She just couldn't get over that discrimination though… "Regardless."

Roomi continued, "I think they'd hang out with you. Jyun is ALWAYS complaining about how you never come to this dinner night thingy he always disappears for."

Jeez, that was her obsessive older brother…she'd never understand that. Didn't everyone have something to do on Mondays besides get together and talk to their family…? Sure, it was nice to have a reunion every once in a while but every Monday? And there was such high attendance too! It was lollygagging to her.

…And maybe that wasn't all it was.

It was something she wasn't. Something she never would be as long as she could help it. It was something that made her look like the odd one out and she hated it. She hated that everyone just seemed to be so gung-ho about it and how everyone thought it was weird when you weren't. She could get past Kyo and Jyun's past tortures, she honestly could. But that…

"Honestly, that has nothing to do with my family…well, my direct family anyway. The problem is that…well, all the cousins, they're…they're _married"_ she grimaced.

Roomi blinked and gave her a quick look of confusion, "God forbid."

Hoshiko winced. Truly she wished she could state her opinion in a way that didn't make her sound like a bitter bitch. "That's fine too. Except it just follows this stereotype…all my cousins get married and their wives are all so devoted that they'll have hundreds of their children. Like my tomboy cousin, Kaede? She just suddenly falls head over heels in love with this guy and has three of his children without question. It just…irritates me."

Though she had to admit, which may surprise her 'lovely' coworker, Kaede's husband was pretty cute. Maybe the three kids did make sense.

Roomi was gazing at stores they passed, murmuring as she did so, "People change. It's probably hard to understand if you've never been in love though, I guess…and really, they're still your cousins, right?"

Well, true enough. Kaede was just about the same, besides being a mama…all her cousins had matured but still had those tendencies. Being married made them different but at the same time…they were still them.

Maybe she should just stop finding fault with everything, she thought with a sigh. But still…

"I guess. I don't know, it also seems really lame, the whole family getting together every Monday."

Roomi pouted suddenly, "I tried to convince Jyun to let me go to see what's up but he told me there's no way in any circle of hell that's happening. Something about his mother would never let him live it down…"

That made Hoshiko laugh. Jyun bringing a woman to family dinner night? That'd be so hilarious and weird, "Oh God, our mother has been trying to get Jyun to marry someone for years. If he brought any form of a female home, I can just imagine."

And indeed, Yagami Elli would have his wedding planned by the end of the night. Their mother tried her best to get her sons to consider calming down their promiscuous tendencies. Jyun, having been hurt in the past by someone he'd really liked, had sworn off marriage, much like she had but for different reasons. And Kyo claimed he hadn't found the right one yet. Nonetheless, their mother couldn't stand it and tried to hook them up whenever she could.

Roomi noted, "She seems kind of overbearing, your mother, but Jyun and Kyo seem to think the world of her."

Her brothers were mama's boys, somewhat. "Of course they do, they were her little darlings. But she hates how they're…womanizers."

"I really can't think of any woman that would like that their son is a manwhore" Roomi snickered.

Hoshiko smiled faintly at that…in a sense, talking about them, she wondered if they'd…changed. She wondered if maybe things were a lot different than she remembered and that they would accept her. She knew she could deal with Kyo and Jyun's past transgressions against her but…would they want to do that as well? Maybe Jyun wanted her to come to dinner but maybe he was just saying that as duty to their mother who always seemed dejected that they all seemed so busy.

The idea intrigued her and she shrugged, "I guess…I'll try to put in a visit. It has been a while."

She was startled as Roomi grabbed the bend of her arm, dragging her toward Macys, commenting, "Great! Let's get a new outfit for you so your daddy can see you all pretty!"

Hoshiko flustered. Why would she want THAT?

Admittedly, out of her immediate family, her father was probably her favorite. She'd rather not think of herself as a daddy's girl but Yagami Nelly never told her she couldn't do anything because 'she was a girl' and often reprimanded, when he was present, Kyo and Jyun for making fun of her, demanding they grant her the same kind of respect that they gave each other. That made her smile for a moment. Bless her dad's heart for saying that but unfortunately it wasn't the _best_ comparison, considering how the brother's relationship could be from time to time…

She watched Roomi go across the racks like an avid, attentive artist, staring at colors and prints with a serious eye. Hoshiko just couldn't do it. Some people took shopping as an art, maybe that's why they loved it so…her, she just wanted to get it done and over with.

Glancing at a shirt that was rainbow cheetah print, her eyes widened. Well, maybe she just didn't quite have the eye…

"Jyun doesn't talk about his dad much. Do they get along?"

Noting next the zigzag purple, yellow, and blue, she blanked, "Dad, Kyo, and Jyun are like best friends. Dad takes them drinking and everything."

True enough, those were his boys…or maybe her dad was just strange.

"Wow…"

Hoshiko looked to her and gaped, startled, to find her holding a silk tunic style shirt with no arms and a turtleneck. It had red and yellow and white wild prints… and it looked hella complicated. Hoshiko refused complicated too!

She blurted, "Y-you can't be _serious_. That's…that's the weirdest shirt ever, I wouldn't even know how to put it on."

Roomi glanced at the shirt she was holding before shrugging, "It'll compliment you perfectly, don't worry. And you're a smart girl, you'll figure it out."

Hoshiko took the item from her as she held it out and stared it over…well, it did feel nice…still there were a lot of holes going on. Where did her head go through…?

After deliberating over this for a second, she questioned dryly, "Didn't Jyun ever tell you I was an idiot?"

Roomi didn't seem to buy. "I think Jyun thinks more highly of you than you realize. Besides, he's in no place to call anyone an idiot."

Hoshiko chuckled at that, noticing a nearby mirror and pressing the article of clothing in front of her…ugh, would she have the body for this?

"Honestly, I don't know why he acts like that. I'll give him that he's a very humble guy" she remarked, wondering what pants would even go with this…

"What do you mean?" Roomi questioned, apparently on that mission already.

"Mm, Jyun was a valedictorian of his class in high school and Magna Cum Laude in college" Hoshiko shook her head, still in disbelief about that to this day. Smartest dumb ass ever.

This seemed to surprise Roomi a lot though, "That idiot told me he wasn't!"

Hoshiko scowled a little as she was handed about a dozen articles of clothing, knowing where this was going. She'd be forced to try them on. She hated trying stuff on, it killed her already low self-esteem. Commenting as she looked through the stack, she shook her head.

"Jyun never really gloats about that type of thing. It just…well, doesn't fit him, I guess? I still remember at his graduation party, he was making all sort of idiot comments and our dad even teased him, asking how he graduated…"

But then, that was just how Jyun rolled, she guessed…she'd kind of gloat a little if she had accomplished all he had. Oh well…

Roomi had pursed her lips, as if she'd learned something completely astonishing before smiling, shoving her towards where else but the dressing room. Ugh, this would suck…

Stepping inside, she pouted as Roomi instructed her, "See those pants on top? Put those on, I think they'll work with all the shirts."

Swallowing, she found the…pants and put them on…they were shorts and flared at the bottom…and honestly extremely comfortable for how not slackerish they looked.

"…What are these?" Hoshiko asked, surprised. They didn't draw any undo attention to any place and yet they were so…feminine.

"Gauchos. They're kind of out at the moment, honestly, but I think it'll be perfect for you and that you can rock them. Try on a top so I can see."

Biting her lip, Hoshiko grabbed the white button up blouse shirt with a built in black bodice…putting it on, she grimaced. Ugh, lack of boobage equaled fail.

Opening the door, she pouted sadly, "I…don't have breasts."

And noticing that the petite woman before her had a rack that anyone could envy, she sighed. But Roomi waved a hand.

"Honey, for all the back pain they're worth, if I could, I'd deal out a chest size to all that wanted it."

Hoshiko blinked at this and Roomi scowled, "And what is with that bra anyway? You're not a grandma! Ugh, this is going to take some time."

Hoshiko groaned at that and Roomi stroked her chin, shaking her head, "Now see? The guy clothes made me think you were bigger than you are. You're thin! Let me go get a small…"

After all the sizes were changed…well, everything did look a lot better. Roomi found her more womanly pants that were similar to the suit pants she wore, just better fitting. Hoshiko scowled when she reached the bottom of the pile and found, of all things, a dress.

"Hey, I said no skirts" she sulked.

"It's a long dress! I'm not dilly there, you, I know you're trying to hide your legs and believe me, as a short person, I can slightly understand though I have to work the opposite."

Hoshiko blushed and frowned, "W-well, still…"

"Just try it. And wear the vest over it too…"

Disgruntled, she put on the long maroon dress and swallowed, confused…the dress, button up, hugged her curves…way too attractively. It was puzzling because she'd pretty much convinced herself no such thing was possible.

Pulling the vest on, she stared at herself in the mirror and rubbed her arms. It felt wrong, almost sickening actually.

But she liked it…

Roomi demanded she buy it when she showed it to her and Hoshiko shyly complied. Thinking the excursion was over, Roomi then proceeded to drag her to make-up where she got her lipgloss, saying a tiny amount would make her lips look pretty and wouldn't take an hour to apply. Okay…next, they went to jewelry. Hoshiko had wanted to deny this but Roomi told her standard sized diamond studs could make any outfit. They were pretty simple. After that, they went, embarrassingly, to the bras. 'You're not a billion years old, damn it' was Roomi's complaint, giving her sexy less wired bras, showing her the action of pushing her chest in to give her more cleavage…awkward, but insightful. She refused thongs, so help her, but Roomi did convince her to at least try a bikini cut. Shoes…shoes were just weird, it took a majority of the trip, only beat out by the clothes part.

…Needless to say, she was pretty exhausted when they put everything in Roomi's car. It took up the trunk and the back seat. Roomi clapped, starting the car, "This is exciting!"

"Yea…" Hoshiko blushed.

"Well, there's just one more thing."

Oh God. Hoshiko glanced at her fearfully, "What's left…?"

She was apprehensive as they pulled up in front of a hair salon. She'd never went into any place like that. She always went to…well, barbers. But Roomi said there was no way she was butchering her hair anymore.

"I know, sometimes I want to wake up and say 'to hell with you' to my hair too. Unfortunately, I'm high maintenance. You, on the other hand, can have a style that is just comb and wear, not mousse, spray, brush, condition, and flat iron."

"Comb and wear?" Hoshiko echoed.

"Uh huh! Just wake up, run a comb through, and boom."

"…Wouldn't washing it ruin a style though?"

"Nope, not with what I'm thinking."

…Well, if that hair style existed, then sure. She just doubted it.

"Hi, Roomi dear!" called a worker at the salon.

"Hi, Shomi!"

Wow, first name basis. Crazy.

"And who do we have here?" asked the woman, her red hair stylishly cut short and spiky.

"This is my 'boss'' little sister, Hoshiko" Roomi introduced, "She needs a very low-maintenance but stylish do. She doesn't have time to do a lot of prep in the morning and if I hadn't brought her here, she'd chop it all off to a crew cut."

"Oh no, no, honey, that's not good at all. You have a good texture!" Shomi gasped.

Was kinky curly a texture…? The woman stroked her chin and nodded, "Unfortunately, I can't see any style that wouldn't need a little maintenance with this texture…"

Hoshiko groaned. She knew it…Hitori's, here she comes.

"Well, I mean, unless you'll have time every few months to come back, that is."

Hoshiko looked up, blinking… "Every few…months?"

"Oh yes, I'd cut it a little short and layer it a bit to make it wavy. With the layers, all you have to do is comb it down and it's perfect."

…Every two to three months? That wasn't anywhere near as bad as she expected…she laughed slowly.

"W-well, that should be fine then."

The woman brightened, "Great! Let's get you under the wash."

Hoshiko closed her eyes, surprised by how relaxing having her hair washed was. The woman was gentling massaging a nice smelling shampoo into her scalp. After she rinsed it, she led Hoshiko to the hair for blow drying. She informed Hoshiko that this was the hardest part. Right…

Cropping her hair to a little below her neck, the woman used a flat iron to straighten, clipping her ends and curving her hair a bit. Hoshiko frowned and the dresser chuckled.

"I know, this seems like a lot of time to spend but this is just the main step. After, it should all be something you can get maintained in fifteen minutes."

Hoshiko nodded, understanding…staring at the cut, she bit her lip, "I-I don't know, I've never had my hair long…n-not since I was little, anyway."

Roomi, sitting in a nearby chair, reading a magazine, scoffed, standing, "It's a lot cuter than what you had going on before! Besides, you'll look amazing when you get into some of your new clothes…"

Hoshiko swallowed, unsure. Her whole life, she'd pretty much been the same…she may have been ten the last time she wore a dress…but Roomi, the strange secretary of her oldest brother, smiled happily.

"A little change never hurt anyone…give it a shot. I betcha' you'll like it."

Staring at herself, a different looking person but still the same otherwise, she sheepishly blushed and nodded slowly. She held it against her cousins that they changed, she'd pretty much refused to see if her brothers had changed almost…maybe she did have too much against change.

And hey, Julius couldn't really call her 'manly' like this right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Oh, this was so awkward. She kneaded her hands as she stepped off the ferry into Mineral. It was…weird, kind of, being back there. She lived in the city directly after leaving college. And yea, she did come back a couple times but it still had been a while…

Wandering, the clack of her flat bottomed leather lace-up boots against the stones humming with the activity on the streets. Doug's bar was packed with insane customers, the streets were crowded with mini shops, and Jeff's grocery store was bright as people paraded in and out with supplies. Hoshiko blinked as some children darted past her, walking with their parents to a restaurant. It was so…bustling.

Coming closer to where her uncle's house was, she took a deep breath, thinking she saw her cousin Carrie with some…guy and her son, Hayato, tucked under his arm.

…Woah, he totally had to be Hayato's father though, they were practically twins. When'd that happen…?

"…Who are you?"

Hoshiko stiffened, flustering, her brother's voice startling her. She spared a brief glance at Jyun who was staring at her in wide-eyed amazement as she crossed her arms and walked past him, "Shut up!"

She had decided to wear the maroon dress. Just because she liked it though, not to dress up 'pretty for her daddy' or whatever. Jyun's steps echoed behind her.

"Uh, just…kidding. You're…cute."

CUTE? Hoshiko wanted to wail on him…but realized she might hear that a lot more…assuming people did find her cute. Ugh, this is why she hated being a girl. She glowered back at him. "Your secretary took me shopping."

This gave Jyun pause as he reiterated slowly, " _Roomi_ took you shopping…?"

She almost snickered. Indeed, after their first meeting…well, she could tell what the deal with Roomi was: she was blunt. Painfully so, almost, and the kind of interesting part was Roomi didn't care. So it might have been a little uncouth of her to call Hoshiko butch within seconds of meeting her but that…just seemed to be her.

"Yes…and she said there was no need to cut off all my hair, just get something wake and wear…and apparently this is 'wake and wear' as long as I get it done once every few months."

"I see…" Jyun commented though obviously it was still a bit lost on him.

She rubbed her arms, the air a tad nippy, mumbling, "And she convinced me to come…I…I don't know what to expect."

"I'm sure mom and dad will be thrilled" Jyun smiled.

Blushing at that, she mumbled, changing what felt like an awkward subject, "She's an interesting person, that…Roomi."

Jyun agreed rather amiably, "Yea, she's one in a million."

Hoshiko cocked a brow at this. Her brother usually didn't say…strange things like that. She got the idea that he and Roomi were a lot more intimate than they'd admit. Which ultimately wouldn't be too surprising. Giving her brother a secretary was just an all around bad idea…but she had noted that Roomi asked a lot of questions about Jyun, ones he'd gnaw his own arm off before telling anyone not related about. "She seems curious about you. Especially after I told her about your rankings in school."

Jyun paused and glared at her a bit, "WHAT? What did you tell her?"

Sometimes humble did get a bit annoying…"I told her you were top-ranked and I didn't know why you acted like a moron" she shrugged, feeling as if it were of no consequence.

"Hoshiko!" he exclaimed.

"Hoshiko?"

They both jumped a mile as Yagami Elli's voice pervaded the moment, the woman pushing between them and grasping her wrists, "Oh my goodness! Look at you! You're so pretty!"

She hadn't been pretty before? "Thanks…"

"Oh, you've always been beautiful but you never used your potential!"

Hoshiko flustered, "W-well, uh…"

"Ah! This is so exciting, you haven't been in years!" the woman practically bubbled.

Hoshiko just smiled anxiously and Elli grabbed both her and Jyun's arm, dragging them towards the house. Oh God, here goes.

"What the hell?"

She sulked at her other brother, Yagami Kyo, who stared at her, gawking. Hoshiko 'hmph'd' and their mother scolded him, "Stop looking at her like that, you!"

"Well, well, well, it's been a while."

Hoshiko blushed and looked at her Uncle Koji sheepishly, "Hi…"

"You didn't look like this last time I saw you" Kyo scowled.

"What's your problem?" she demanded.

Koji laughed, waving them out of the doorway, "Don't mind Kyo, Hoshiko, brothers tend to be a little wary of changes in siblings…especially with sisters."

She blinked, confused at that, and Jyun snickered, "I'm cool with it…"

"I'm not! It's a guy, isn't it?" Kyo grunted.

"Is it?" Elli gasped, excited.

"No!" exclaimed Hoshiko, "I-I just thought I could use some change!"

Jyun smirked widely as Elli was called off to do something in the kitchen and Koji took a phone call before cocking a brow at Kyo, "Roomi caught her in her trap and took her shopping, punk. Don't get so up in arms."

Kyo seemed vaguely placated…vaguely. The two pulled her into the den with all the cousins and their kids and…everything.

She was met with that usually cheerful mood her cousins always had. Her grandmother, the great Yagami Dana of the world-famous fashion company, Yagada, was delighted, saying she wanted to give her outfits too. Oh God.

Hoshiko felt rather mortified and embarrassed when she was given _five_ _years'_ worth of Christmas and birthday presents that had apparently been sitting in her Uncle's basement for…FIVE years.

…Was it really acceptable to go that long without seeing…anyone? Why had it seemed like it was? But as she was staring at over two hundred presents, it definitely put things into perspective. The amount of presents could have been the amount of events and memories she missed, the amount of pain and anguish a family member went through.

…And she missed it because she found all this 'happiness' lame? Not to mention they still actually took the time to bother to buy her presents when she couldn't even bother to show up...

"Uh" she laughed nervously, "I'll um, open these in a second. I might need a few days off too."

Carrie smirked, "Don't worry. If you don't mind, we have enough kids here that are experts at opening presents."

The kids did seem eager and she chuckled some, "Go ahead…"

Looking around squeamishly, she questioned, "Um, where's dad?"

"Napping like an old man on the deck" yawned Jyun.

Hoshiko smirked and stood, "I'll be right back then."

Wandering towards the back of the house, she blinked, her dad indeed stretched out on the heated covered deck in a chair, snoring faintly. She blushed and started to walk back in. She could talk to him later, he seemed tired.

"Mm, Elli…?"

She paused, glancing over her shoulder. He'd turned over on his stomach and was gazing sleepily around in the dark.

"Uh…no…"

Yagami Nelly rose to sit up, rubbing the back of his head, dazed, "Hoshiko?"

"Uh, hi…" she blushed.

Why was she so nervous…? The man rubbed his eyes, waving her over, "Oi, what are you doing? Come here."

Pouting some, she wandered back towards him and squeaked when he pulled her into a hug, "I haven't seen you in _months_ , young lady. I could have died by now."

"That's not funny, papa" she pouted more.

He chuckled and he stared her over, "Well, don't we look all dressed up. Party?"

"Something like that" she snickered.

Nelly stood, releasing her and grunting a little as he stretched, "Mm, how long have I been asleep…?"

"I don't know. Jyun told me you were back here."

"Your knucklehead brothers are being nice to you, right?" he grumbled.

"Kyo's being kind of dumb…" she sighed airily.

"Well, that's just Kyo."

She chuckled as he walked back into the house with her, wandering into the living room where the others were still working on demolishing the mountain of presents. She saw she had gifts anywhere from ricemakers to video games. Laughing a little when she saw she'd received, of all things, a Tamagotchi, she slammed down and picked it up.

"So who got the time machine to go buy this?"

"That might have been me, I'm not sure…" mused Kaede, "I thought it'd be cute. I remember Kyo threw yours into the bathtub."

"Oi, that thing was being loud and obnoxious" Kyo snorted.

"We never threw you into a bathtub" Jyun said offhandedly.

Kyo glowered, "If only that were true…"

Jyun grinned and Hoshiko smirked, rolling her eyes, when Jyun's cell suddenly beeped. He took it out, clicking a button, and reading its contents. He smiled vaguely and typed something. Kyo crossed his arms and sent him a look, "That your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend" Jyun said rather plainly.

Hoshiko stared at him as he responded to another…and got the strangest feeling he was talking to Roomi.

Kyo yawned, rubbing his eyes, "I am exhausted…"

"Yea, manual labor can do that to you" Jyun remarked, still texting.

Kyo snorted, "Like you'd know, Mr. I-Sit-In-Front-Of-A-Computer-All-Day."

"Correction: Mr. Sometimes- I-Sit-In-Front-Of-A-Computer-All-Day" Jyun amended.

Kyo smirked widely and Hoshiko glanced at him, "What exactly are you doing nowadays…?"

"A lot of construction right now" he answered, "Kind of quick projects."

She nodded slowly and questioned everyone what was up. They all answered particularly strangely, in any case, Carrie apparently back in acting school, Steiner the owner of now a lot of restaurants in his Tenshiya line…

…It struck her that she'd taken so long to change when everyone seemed to change so much so easily. And she felt awkward because she'd missed it because she'd refused to change herself.

Walking out after eating, starting to head home, Jyun and Kyo with her and carrying her things, she sighed, "That was…interesting."

"Mm" Jyun remarked, stretching.

"I, uh…guess I should come more" she laughed slowly, "Sucks being out of the loop."

"I can imagine" snorted Kyo.

Hoshiko scowled at him and Jyun chuckled, "Well, it's good you made a visit…"

"…I'll come more" she mumbled, "Just not…every week."

"Psh, I don't come every week" Jyun admitted, "I do have a job, after all. And sometimes it doesn't reasonably fit into my schedule."

"Yea" Kyo agreed.

She glanced at them as they all boarded the ferry. When she thought about it, she guessed everyone wasn't… 'lolly-gagging'. If Carrie was going to school again, she obviously couldn't make it to every dinner night. And if Steiner owned businesses, he probably couldn't either…

Maybe she'd missed the point. Of course they had stuff to do on a Monday night but everyone could use a time to relax out of a busy week...

Gazing out at the water, she swore to make another change. Judgmental had always been something she was. Even back when she was a teenager that did attend every dinner night.

…But no longer. She'd…try to keep a more open mind to things now. She'd…try to be less biting at work, to try to get to know people, to stop talking over people in business meetings to get her own ideas across. Maybe those people had wanted to express their thoughts as much as she did and…she just forced her view.

…And though it'd be _hard_ , she'd try to be less crass and argumentative with Julius too. Just because he was mean to her didn't mean she had to return the insults. Of course, she wasn't going to tolerate everything and be meek but some of it really didn't warrant a reaction.

Clenching her knees, she smiled some. She'd worried that changing her outside appearance would be the easy way out or denying herself somehow.

…Maybe not necessarily.


	4. Hath No Fury

**Chapter 4:** Hath No Fury

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews and adds! And yes, I remember looking at Tree of Tranquility bachelors for the first time and thinking, huh, they mixed up two of the bachelorettes (Chihaya aka Chase and naturally, 'Juli')…but low and behold, they're guys x.x Oh well, lol.

You're going to see that there are OBVIOUSLY some issues with these people…lol, might even be an understatement. Beware, Roomi makes an appearance…and it as outspoken as ever, as is Julius…

Hmm…

Enjoy XD

Shimizu Julius wandered into work, sighing as he was a few minutes late. Traffic had been murder.

He paused, cocking a brow, as he ran into some lurkers around his office door. Okay, a lot of lurkers. Traffic everywhere, it seemed. Shifting his bag on his shoulder, he cocked a purple brow and questioned a guy peeking around his door absently.

"Uh…did you guys need something?" he questioned slowly.

They all turned and the guy grunted, "What happened to Yagami?"

Julius blinked lethargically, "What, she completely bald this time?"

"No" he growled.

Julius cocked a brow before waving his hand, thinking it was of no consequence. Pushing past everyone to get to his office, he opened the door, ready to demand what she was doing that had everyone in such an uproar…

…Oh _._

His eyes widened tenfold as she looked at the bookcases with books and magazines on design, not noticing him. Naturally nothing to get shocked about but…her hair was…long. Well…not long, but…longer than what she normally did.

...She wasn't wearing gigantic male clothes but a mock-halter sleeveless silk turtleneck…tunic thing and a long pair of _fitting_ black slacks. Humming, she glanced at him finally, cocking a brow, "Good morning."

"…Good morning" he replied, his brows furrowing as she sat at her desk.

"Mira-san called you earlier" she replied, flipping through the book, "Wanted you to call her back."

He nodded very slowly before walking over to his desk, slamming down and staring at her before remarking, "And…what's _this_ all about?"

"This?" she echoed absently.

"Yea, your…random wardrobe" he grunted, "And hair."

She shrugged indifferently, "I thought I could use a change."

He scowled, "Just all of a sudden, 'hey, let's try being a female' popped into your head?"

"Yea, you should try the opposite sometimes" she sighed airily.

His eyes narrowed and she smiled sweetly, "Sorry…"

'Meeting in five' cut off any retort he was going to make, the message being announced outside their door where Hoshiko's newfound fanboys were collected. She stood, picking up a note pad and wandered out. He glowered and followed. No, this was too sudden…

The girls seemed to eyeball her strangely as she sat in the meeting, turning her cell phone to vibrate. What was she trying to do, alienate herself _further_? Suddenly being " _normal"_ wasn't going to get her any brownie points…

Roshinko Eo didn't really remark on it but spent much of the meeting glancing at Hoshiko, probably because of the new look. And she wasn't really inputting as much as she usually did. She made a couple of statements but let other people talk too. What the hell…?

When the meeting was over, she left the board room and went back to the office, Julius scowling as he followed. This just…irked him for some reason. It just didn't make any sense!

They spent the next couple hours in silence as she worked almost diligently at her sketch. Glaring up at her every few minutes, he wasn't quite as lucky.

"…I see" he remarked, having an epiphany, "You did this so I would stop making fun of you."

She sighed, "I'd be lying if I said that hadn't crossed my mind but knowing you you'll find some other way to irritate me."

"Then why?" he demanded, dropping his pencil.

"Why not?" she countered, "I don't see why it bothers you anyway, I still could never pull the stuff you wear. I won't be competition."

He glared at her as she stood, "Y'know, I don't remember how I got swindled into buying lunch yesterday but I'll stick to my word and keep our schedule. What do you want?"

"…Nothing" he muttered.

She cocked a brow before shaking her head and wandering out. He looked up and glowered lightly.

…She probably hated this. She'd be done with it in a week, he reasoned. There was no way she could get used to dressing like this after spending the amount of years she apparently had dressed like a guy.

…A week, he snorted. Then things would be back to 'normal'.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…Damn it.

Hoshiko was blustered as her desk was covered with poor, misguided male's chocolates. Friendship chocolates, perhaps, but had this been a matter of weeks ago, the girl wouldn't have gotten a single piece.

It was Valentine's Day or something and he glared as she slowly opened the boxes. Her eyes widened at one in particular.

"Oh my God, I love these" she gasped, ripping open the container and admiring the chocolates inside.

He gave her a contrary smile, "Really?"

"They're so expensive though" she remarked, biting into a piece, "I guess I should go get some friendship chocolates for everyone at lunch…"

Julius grunted. She glanced at him, "You get any?"

"Why, do I need any?" he snorted.

"I guess not" she shrugged, picking up her pencil, "It's interesting. I've never gotten any chocolates."

"Hmph, is that why you're all girly now?" he grunted.

She rolled her eyes and stood, dressed in a white fitted tunic and gauchos, "I'm not _that_ girly, sheesh…"

So…it lasted about four weeks longer than he thought it would. Men practically bowed at her feet now, asking to run errands for her and pretty much having taken over their lunch schedule…but oh, she wasn't going to let that fly, she brought them lunch too, much to their perverted delight.

" _She has no…notable features that I can see that draw you guys in like this" he'd remarked once when the males were sitting in the lunch room._

 _The guys admitted, when it came to breasts, she definitely had competition within the office. Julius, feeling something of a breakthrough with this nonsense, pressed that she was stick thin too._

 _That seemed to be where everything was going wrong. Hoji, a guy in the office, grinned at that, "Well yea, but have you noticed…her redefining feature, hmm?"_

 _Julius' brow rose and the other guys just chuckled, never telling him what this 'redefining' feature was. When he'd returned to his office that day, he secretively looked her over…finding absolutely NOTHING. The next day, he tried again, just to make sure before telling the men they were just pervs, finding things that weren't there…_

… _But that day, she was wearing a more…fitted pair of pants, not the gauchos she seemed to favor. Gazing at her quickly, he did something of a double take. She was standing sideways…_

 _Somewhere in his head 'Baby Got Back' started to play._

 _She was...hippy but had well-proportioned thighs. He just didn't expect her to have…well, an ass like that. And that he hadn't noticed whatsoever also struck him. Course, he…wasn't looking so that might have been why, but still!_

 _Returning to the male haven of the lunch room, he glared, "Okay, so she has a nice…posterior. Is that all there is?"_

" _She's cute as hell!"_

 _CUTE? "Are you KIDDING?" he demanded._

" _Well, maybe not to you…" Hoji remarked absently._

 _His eyes narrowed a bit and another guy sighed, "I'd love to get with that…"_

 _They all made murmurs of agreement and Julius felt rather uneasy… "What do you mean 'get with that'…? You can't mean…hotel kind of get with that?"_

 _They all grinned somewhat, Hoji answering, "Hotel, back of a car, subway-get-with- that."_

 _Appalled, he scowled and marched out, in disbelief that they so quickly forgot she was practically a man a month ago. He paused, finding her talking to a short adorable newbie worker. Her eyes were bright with absolute admiration…_

 _The females had been like him previously: not giving this makeover any credit whatsoever and ignoring her as they had before. But this girl wandered to her, Candy or something, and told her she loved the shirt Hoshiko had on._

 _All the other girls seemed horrified for the silly woman, the one that would walk up to the Queen of Evil herself and compliment her. But Hoshiko seemed sheepish, admitting she'd had a lot of help picking out the shirt but thanked Candy for the praise. Candy, very naïve apparently or taken in by this probably superficial niceness, asked her questions like where did she shop and whatnot…_

… _Hoshiko actually CONVERSED with her. WHAT?_

 _It must have been a woman thing because as they talked this magnetically pulled the other girls to join…and before he knew it, they were like best damn friends._

… _What was going on?_

And now she was getting tons of chocolate. She wandered out, obviously on her quest to get some chocolates to reciprocate, and he slammed his drawing pad down on the desk. Why? Why was she doing this? Why let him get used to her being one way and change all of a sudden?

…

Hoji poked his head in, grinning widely, before scowling, "Hey…where's Yagami-san?"

"Off getting you chocolate" grunted Julius, "Happy?"

Hoji's grin returned, "Aw, that's awesome…but I can think of _other_ things I'd prefer."

Julius' eyes narrowed as he smiled tightly, "So were you the one that gave her the expensive chocolate?"

"Yea, I thought it'd get me some extra points. I was thinking about asking her out soon" he sighed.

For some reason, red flags raised in the back of Julius' head…what? Ask her out? "I…think you're making a mistake."

"Oh, get off it, Julius" Hoji snickered, "You try to sully her newfound hotness because you just don't want to share."

Flabbergasted, Julius launched to his feet, "Are you crazy?!"

The man shrugged, "You were with her before, weren't you? Maybe you noticed before we did-"

"I didn't notice anything" he growled.

"Then lay off. I promise, I won't be too rough…" Hoji chuckled darkly.

Julius' scarlet gaze darkened as the man left. Scum.

Reclining back, he closed his eyes. He often did things purely out of adrenaline, he'd noted. Back when he was younger, he teased girls that he liked…and yes, he liked girls. His wardrobe may have been feminine but…it was difficult to explain, but his thoughts digressed.

…The girls often hated him because, instead of doing the reasonable thing of telling them he liked them, he teased them mercilessly. He knew it was bulls—t to say and do but…he had a motive for keeping people he liked far. So…was that what he was doing with Hoshiko?

…No! That was ridiculous! She first came in, dressed like a guy with an attitude that drove everyone insane. Yagami Hoshiko had been rude, talked over people, thought that her ideas were the best in the universe, and he was yet to see what his aunt saw in her. She had nothing he could possibly want.

…But…

Sometimes, she looked kind of giddy whenever she thought she'd figured out some great design…or when she found something similar had already been made, she looked sad. And…maybe she usually looked masculine and angry. Or had. But those looks she got, they were rare, but…they were rather endearing.

Just she wasn't cute, damn it!

…Okay, _fine_ , she was kind of cute. He had been bothered, though he kind of repressed it, that she cut off her hair. It brought a lot of attention to her pretty face and that might have been why he made fun of her so. She was a damn distraction.

Course now that she had hair she was _more_ of a distraction!

…She wasn't worth it. He…he didn't need to put up his defenses against a woman like this. That's what his attacks were: a defense…Hoshiko Yagami, he didn't need to keep away though. There was nothing to defend against. There was no attraction he had to fight. He wasn't interested in getting to know her, she was a coworker. He could deal with a weird coworker…

He wasn't interested.

She returned, a bag in her hand, and he glanced at her, about to actually apologize about his probably jerk-offness… but she wandered over, holding something out. "You like pumpkin, right? I saw these. Chocolate pumpkin sounds kind of gross but that's just because I don't like pumpkin…"

He stared at the box of chocolate, remembering that the one box of chocolate he ever got was from a boy with a misconception…

…And her, apparently.

…He was interested.

Grabbing the box of chocolates, not able to control the outburst about to ensue, he tossed it in the trash.

Her eyes widened, stunned, as he wheeled on her, "I don't _want_ **your** chocolate! Is this how you seduce people?"

She gawked, "I am not trying to seduce you-"

"I'm sure. You have the rest of the office at your beck and call" he said icily, "That's what you wanted, right? Wear your pants tight enough, get some perks."

She balled her angrily fists, "How dare you?!"

"What, you think all the guys are going out of their way to be nice to you because you've suddenly had a personality change? Get a clue, _honey_ , it's not only your good graces they're trying to get into."

She recoiled and he snorted, slamming back into his chair, "Besides, everyone knows you're _flaming_ anyway. And two-faced. Go get a grip. No one will ever like you except to try to get into your pants so you might as well behave the way you really are."

Her adorable face trembled before she darted out of there like her life depended on it. Staring after her, he sighed and looked into the trash can, taking the box out, unwrapping the plastic and pushing the candy into his mouth.

…It was good.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _You need to be on effin medication, you psycho"_ his conscience growled at him.

Rubbing the side of his face, Julius shrugged slowly as he wandered back into his office the next day. He knew he was unduly cruel yesterday, but…

' _You're such a little kid'_ the voice in the back of his head continued, _'You just want her to go back to the way things were before because you don't want other guys looking at her.'_

Wrong, he grunted. He wanted her to go back to the way things were so he wouldn't be bothered by the guys staring at her, obviously. Jealousy was not a factor.

As he went further into the magazine, he frowned. It felt mellowed out. The guys looked rather…depressed. He questioned one guy that looked like a zombie and he sighed.

"…Nothing. I guess it was too good to last."

Julius felt a little surprised…and content, rushing towards his office. Could it be…?

Walking in, he found Hoshiko in an oversized white dress shirt and a huge pair of slacks, staring at her computer screen numbly. He felt utterly relieved. Without a word, he wandered back over to his desk and noted that her hair was still long though…

As if reading his mind, she uttered monotonously, "I'm leaving for an hour after lunch to get my hair cut."

"Oh…good" he remarked, cocking a brow.

She didn't say anything after that and the silence could almost be described as blissful…if it didn't bother the hell out of him anyway. Silent she was not prior to her failed makeover.

"…What do you want for lunch today?" he said to break the proverbial ice.

"Nothing" she said shortly, "I'll get my lunch from now on."

He scowled, "And what happened to the 'coworker camaraderie'."

"I could ask you the same" Hoshiko said almost bitterly.

Julius glowered, "The truth hurts, doesn't it? I'm sorry I was the only one that could admit it to you."

"Thanks?" she laughed humorlessly, "Now that you've done me the favor, do me another and never talk to me again."

It was a rather biting comment, he found, one that kind of stabbed at his stomach. Eyes narrowing, he growled, "Vain _and_ petty, huh?"

"Who's petty?!" she demanded, flying to her feet, "I don't _care_ what you say, I don't _care_ what other guys were trying to accomplish, I _liked_ waking up and knowing that looking in the mirror that that was the same person, that it made no difference what I looked like. I liked that I was starting to feel confident enough that I didn't have to be so bold and biting because I had built rapport with my coworkers, that they were _okay_ listening to me! I never…wanted to seduce anyone…"

He opened his mouth to retort something but faltered when tears ran down her face. Covering her eyes with her hand, she cried, muffled, "I…I also dressed differently so you would leave me alone. You're the only one that verbally teased me like that. My brothers teased me too but-but you're a hundred times worse. I just wanted you to stop making fun of me, I-I didn't want people to see me any differently, it just happened…and I went with it because it turned out it was _nice_. And even if everyone was just pretending to be kind, it felt good that I felt comfortable…"

She unburied her face, bright red and her dark eyes glistening with tears, looking peeved, "But I guess you're right. I guess I should just be how I really am: ugly and awkward and antisocial. Thanks for the wakeup call."

Julius once again tried to say something but he was at a loss…but he didn't really have a chance to say anything even if he did have words.

"WHAT is _THIS_?"

Hoshiko jumped, startled, and they both looked to the door. Julius frowned. It was Hoshiko's brother's…secretary? She was holding up her cell phone, a tart look on her face.

"Jyun forwarded me this text about you asking him to go to the barber. WHY? And WHAT are you wearing?! What the hell is going on? You don't go back on a freakin' makeover!"

"Roomi…" mumbled Hoshiko.

The short woman's blue eyes narrowed, "Why are you crying?"

Hoshiko rubbed at her eyes harshly, "I-I'm not…"

Roomi opened her mouth before clamping it shut, her head turning to pin him with a rather dark glare, "Oh, _I_ see. It's _you_ again, isn't it?"

Julius scowled, "Excuse me?"

In all her vertically challenged glory, she marched towards him and met with him face to face…or at least chest to face, she did look up at him, not missing a beat.

"Listen, you hooker with a penis, I know you want Hoshiko to stay all manned up so you can play out your stupid fantasies, but she's a _girl_."

"WHAT?" he growled.

"Yea, that's right, she has a _vagina_. I bet you just hated that reminder when she dressed all pretty, huh?"

Hoshiko stared, wide-eyed, "Uh…Roomi…?"

"So you listen here, you crossdressing whore, I won't let you mistreat Hoshiko just because she looks better in a dress than you and probably has men all over her-"

"Roomi!" Hoshiko squealed, flustered.

"And you should try to be environmentally green, not green with envy, since you probably killed three polar bears to get that coat. You need to grow up, whatever your name is, I'm not letting you tamper with Hoshiko's hotness or my hard work!"

Roomi stomped away and grabbed Hoshiko's arm, dragging her out of the office without another word. Julius stared after them, his eyes wide, shocked…

…Somehow, that seemed awfully familiar.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hoshiko flushed after Roomi did a quick 'fixer-upper', putting a large belt around the shirt she was wearing, replacing her oversized pants with black tights, and getting her a pair of sandals with a flower in the toe thong. Now, they were sitting in a food court, eating, the woman not looking a teeny bit bothered.

"…Um…Roomi…" was just about all Hoshiko had been able to muster after that...event.

"Oh, don't feel bad for that dick. He should know jealousy is ugly" Roomi waved a hand.

Hoshiko stared at her, wide-eyed, "I'm…pretty sure that jealousy didn't have anything to do with it. I mean, not like he was jealous of my wardrobe or anything..."

"Oh, I see: he was being a bitch for nothing" Roomi said airily.

Hoshiko finally smirked, "Where did you even come up with half that stuff? Does being feisty come naturally?"

Roomi waved her hand again, "Somewhat. If I had time to ponder over what I was going to say, I would have been mean."

"You WERE mean!"

"Well, it's true" Roomi slammed down her hand, "Just because the polar bears are losing their homes and have nowhere to go doesn't mean we should wear them!"

Hoshiko stared at her before commenting, unable to fight cracking up, "Roomi…you are a certified weirdo."

"C'mon, did you _see_ that coat?" Roomi demanded before she reclined and stroked her chin, "Though…maybe it wasn't polar bear, it was kind of fluffy and the texture seemed off. Maybe some unknown cross between a mink and a monkey…"

"Roomi!"

"What would that be? A monmink…or a minkey…I wonder if the tag says thirty percent monmink minkey and seventy percent Wookiee…"

"Roomi!" Hoshiko laughed, "I can never go back to face him again after that!"

"Hey, you have to. Tell him I want in on this minkey business" Roomi said seriously.

"You just made that up! Ugh, this is awful…" Hoshiko giggled despite herself.

Roomi sighed, "You can't let him make decisions for you, Hoshiko…and you can't let me do it either."

Hoshiko frowned, biting a French fry, "What do you mean…?"

"I mean, you changed because of him, right? And you changed back because of him then I'm the one that aided you in the change. You have to decide what _you_ want. I personally think it's a waste of a pretty person to wear those ginormous shirts and pants you have…" she paused and added, "Though that is a very cute outfit you're wearing so if you decide to stick with the girly you definitely can rock the man shirts that way."

Hoshiko sighed, slumping, "I _do_ like the new makeover, Roomi, I just can't help but feel maybe what he said was right. I mean, guys are flocking around me and being nice and really flirtatious but…but what if it is just to have sex with me?"

"That's just 'being a woman', silly girl" Roomi chastised, "When you find the man that does something purely out of the goodness of his heart, not the contents of his pants, keep him."

She looked sad, "So it's just a guy thing…?" 

"You can have guy friends" Roomi amended, "I'd just say that these guys only noticed you when you got sexy so their intentions are a little clearer than usual."

"What about girls?" Hoshiko pouted, "They're being nicer to me too…what if they're just faking?"

"And _that's_ called 'intuition'" Roomi rolled her eyes around, "You'll know when they're being fake. However, it's harder to tell when they're being true. When the situation comes, you'll see who your real friends are. Just know women are a lot more complicated than men when it comes to that. Men tend to let you know exactly where they stand."

"Like Julius…" she mumbled.

"Hooker with a penis?"

"Where'd you even get that?" Hoshiko smirked.

"I was looking at Jyun's old school CD collection and saw that on one of them. 'Tool' or something. It seems fitting" she sighed.

Hoshiko chuckled before sighing herself, "I don't know where _he_ stands though. He's…complicated."

"Why are you guys such mortal enemies?" Roomi question, sipping her drink.

"I don't even know" whined Hoshiko, "We just…STARTED like that. I didn't even know a relationship could turn so ugly SO fast."

"What are you going to do? Turn back to manly attire for his sake or continue on the new trail?" questioned the purple haired woman.

"…I don't know. It felt weird, going back in the office dressed like that. Like I was putting on armor to keep everyone away from me again…" she mumbled.

"Just know, sweetie, that no matter what you're wearing, you're always you and if people immediately started treating you badly because you went back dressed like your former self they weren't sincere to begin with" Roomi chimed, "Regardless, I bet Cinderella felt a lot better at the ball after she got her dress. She would have stood out in rags, yet she still stood out in her gown. It's a lot like your situation…just know, the gown rocks a lot more."

Hoshiko smiled, "I'll continue wearing girl clothes, Roomi."

"A good body is a crime to waste" she said sagely.

Hoshiko snickered and Roomi cocked a brow as her phone chimed. Glancing at it, she smirked, answering. "Hi, hubby."

Hoshiko cocked a brow as she was pretty sure she heard Jyun's voice on the other end. Roomi sighed, playing with her hair, "I know, I got a little tied up doing reconnaissance but I'll have your coffee to you soon."

She pouted, "Nah uh…I promise, promise. And I'll make it up to you later."

She smiled after a moment, "Okay, be good…."

She clicked off and Hoshiko stared at her evenly, "You call my brother… _hubby_?"

"Uh huh, he calls me wifey. It's this thing we have" she sighed airily, holding her cheeks.

Hoshiko just continued to stare, kind of speechless, and Roomi pouted, "What?"

"You REALLY have no idea how creepy that is. Are you sleeping with him?"

"A lady never tells now, Hoshiko" Roomi commented secretively.

Hoshiko blinked knowingly, "You are."

Roomi sighed, standing and grabbing her coat, "Honey, as his sister, I bet you don't notice…but your brother is really hot."

"Yea, right" Hoshiko snorted, following her as they left, "He has hippy hair."

"And it's so soft and shiny and pretty" giggled Roomi.

"And I really shouldn't talk, but he has no notable features, a brown eyed brunette…"

"On such a gorgeous face."

Hoshiko glanced at her, "You sound almost infatuated! You at least know better than to get infatuated with Jyun, right?"

"Sheesh, cut me some credit here" Roomi snickered, "So…what do you like in a guy?"

Hoshiko flushed and mumbled, "I…haven't really thought about it."

"You should. Eventually a non-asshat will come along and want to ask you out, I guarantee it" Roomi assured.

Hoshiko blushed at that…really?

…Who would that be?

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Mission accomplished then somehow unaccomplished by a loud midget, Julius gaped slightly as he watched Hoshiko hum and work at her desk, re-girlified.

The men in the office were seemingly ecstatic and she just smiled at them, saying she just didn't have any clean clothes that morning…ugh.

He didn't know what to think now. He didn't. He felt a lot better when she was dressed like a guy but somehow, hearing what she did think about herself…ugly, awkward, antisocial, he had to wonder if he wanted someone else to be subjected to that. But what about his _own_ sanity? …Was that selfish? He pondered that absently as he pushed one of the chocolates from yesterday into his mouth.

"WHAT?"

He glanced at her, her brown eyes wide and face contorted with shock. About to question 'what what?', he realized…

He was eating the chocolates he tossed into the trash in his outburst yesterday.

Grimacing, he laughed carefully, "W-well, uh…"

"You blow up at me after I give you those, throw them away in my face, and now you're effin' eating them!? What is your problem?! You're like an enigma wrapped in a damn riddle!" she exclaimed.

He sighed gravely, "Probably…"

Hoshiko pursed her lips and stood, "Let's talk."

"Aren't we talking now?"

"No, we're not. Let's talk _outside_ of this office. This seems to be where everything went wrong" she growled.

He glowered but sighed, following her out. Whatever, it didn't really matter. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he sighed again when they arrived on the roof. "You going to toss me off?"

"Might" she said dryly.

She stretched her arms out, leaning against the railing, frowning, "What's the issue?"

"…You're a distraction" he admitted finally, "To…everyone, it seems. I guess that just bugged me a bit."

"Well, I don't _want_ to be a distraction" she commented, exasperated, "And to tell you the truth, our rivalry is a hella distraction too."

"Touché" he agreed with a sigh, "…So…what do you want to do about it?"

Hoshiko stood up straight and wandered over to him, "Let's…start over, okay? I mean, our first words to each other were demanding whether you were a transvestite and me a lesbian. It's been shaky grounds ever since."

He stared at her and pondered over that…

…When those girls got angry at him, he lost interest, he supposed. He never really pursued them once they had had it with him. This could be no different. And she had blown up pretty hardcore on him…or at least her brother's attack secretary had. Maybe now they could go on normally. This 'interest' he thought he had, it couldn't last forever.

"…Shimizu Julius" he said suddenly, "I'm Eo Roshinko and Mira's nephew and despite popular belief, I am not gay."

"Yagami Hoshiko" she replied, "And I'm here from Vanille…and despite what I used to wear, I am not into women. Though apparently men are crazy too, they can be a tad complicated for my taste."

"You have no idea" he smirked, "Promise me one thing…don't sic your oompa-loompa on me again, it was scary."

Hoshiko laughed, a sound he was pretty sure he'd never here. It was…cute. "She is pretty scary to be so short, isn't she?"

"Very" he snorted, walking towards the door, "…What's her last name?

"I believe Seiwa. Seiwa Roomi."

…Seiwa…

…Why'd that sound somewhat familiar?

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Wookiee: Furry Star War's creature

Oompa Loompa: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


	5. Big Night

**Chapter 5** : Big Night

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews XD It's coming along slowly…next chapter, we'll get into how Julius' ticks a bit more, I believe, because he is strange…there might be some minor innuendo in the chapter, nothing too bad.

Enjoy! This chapter crosses over with Chapter 6 of This Love.

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"Julius…"

Julius looked up at Hoshiko who was staring at him rather oddly, her chin propped in her palms on raised elbows. He cocked a brow.

"What, weirdo?"

"Is it tough having red eyes? My Aunt Popuri has them and so does my cousin Keiji, Miru, and Rosa, but do people call you freak…?" she questioned absently.

He cocked his other brow, "…Are you drunk?"

"No, I took Benadryl for my allergies…" she said rather airily, dropping her head, "…Did you know your hair is purple?"

He smirked, shaking his head. It had been about a month and a half since the two decided to stop being so…evil to each other. Oh, naturally it still occurred, the snarky repartee, but it just wasn't as malicious or common. It was…pleasant.

…As for his minor, probably soon to disappear interest in her…it hadn't disappeared but it would, he thought confidently.

She suddenly squealed, a VERY weird sound coming from her before skipping…SKIPPING over to his desk. His eyes widened as she launched at him and he grunted, stunned, as she cuddled against him, stiffening once he realized completely what was going on.

" _What_ are you doing?" he demanded.

"Your coat looks so fuzzy…" she cooed, "And cuddly…"

"Oi! Get off me!" he grunted.

She was freakin' high, he thought with a groan as she giggled giddily. Julius rose and carried her to lie on their couch, covering her with the coat which she actually started to hug, sighing contently. Smirking, he absently patted her shoulder and wandered out to get some coffee…for the both of them. She was no good to anyone stoned.

"Ah, Julius, sweetie!"

He smiled some as his Aunt Mira pranced over to him, air kissing him on both cheeks, "You're looking fabulous, honey."

"I suppose" he chuckled, wearing his red slacks with his white ruffled shirt and red blazer, "What brings you by, Aunt Mira?"

His Uncle Eo handed him an invitation, "Mira and I have selected a very select few from the company to attend this high fashion event. A lot of people will be there: designers, models, photographers, magazines. I want you to represent Roshinko."

He blinked, startled, "Really…?"

"Uh huh!" giggled Mira, "And I want you to take Hoshiko!"

He slowly stared at his aunt before replying, "What?"

"I want Hoshiko to wear this design" Mira continued, holding out a box to him with a beautiful blue sapphire surrounded with an elaborate silver design, like a choker, with matching earrings, "Like a walking model! All the girls we've invited are doing it while the guys give a bit of a spiel."

"Why Hoshiko though?" he demanded.

"Well, you share an office, I thought you'd two work better together as a pair" she pouted.

He groaned in his head. Well, true enough, sad as it was, Hoshiko was the only woman he got along with in the office. Oh God, that was REALLY sad, especially with what he considered 'getting along'.

"I guess I'll go show her then…" Mira sighed.

Julius waved a hand, "She's a bit out of it right now. I'll explain it to her."

His aunt's eyes narrowed, "You promise, young man?"

"Yes, I promise" he sighed.

She gave him the jewelry and continued to give out invites as he quickly got the coffee. Ugh, he was trying to put a bit of a coworker distance between him and her, now they were going to a party as partners….

Wandering back into the office, finding she'd snuggled even more with his coat so that it was wrapped around her, he snorted, wandering over to her and jabbing her. "Rise and shine, sleeping pill beauty."

The woman moaned and looked up drowsily, "Wha…?"

He handed her the coffee and she sipped at it cautiously before closing her eyes, rubbing her brow, "Thanks. What's going on…?"

Julius sighed and held out the box to her… "Will you marry me?"

She smirked, snatching the box from him, "Um…not in this lifetime or the next?"

"That's an awful womany thing to do: take the box and say no" he snickered.

She stuck out her tongue and opened it before her eyes widened, "Woah, this is Candy's design!"

"Yea, you're going to wear that" he rolled his eyes around, "Because we're going to the ball, Cinderella."

Hoshiko stared up at him slowly as he walked to his desk, "What do you mean I'm wearing this? Ball? What is this 'we'?"

"What is this, 21 questions?" he snickered again, "There's some huge fashion fiesta that Roshinko wants us to present our product at. You'll wear it and we'll talk about our design theory and whatnot, I presume."

Hoshiko flustered, "This would look awful on me…"

He just shrugged and she scowled before looking horrified, "Wait, do I have to get a gown?"

"Yep…" he cocked a brow, "It is a pretty formal event."

"Oh my God!"

Julius blinked as she stood, looking mortified, "When is it?"

"This weekend, Saturday, I believe."

"AH! S-Saturday? It's already Wednesday!" she freaked.

He blinked absently as she bit her nail, "I've…never picked out a gown before…do…do I need to get my nails done? My hair? Oh my God!"

Julius just stared at her and she whined, "This SUCKS!"

"Just get your purple-people-eater and shop" he waved a hand, addressing Roomi, one of her best friends, apparently.

Hoshiko slammed down in her chair before sitting up straight, a strangely inspired look on her face, "I'll do everything myself!"

He looked up, scowling, as she flipped open her rolodex and found a number, messing with her hair as she pressed the phone to her ear. After a moment, she looked nervous.

"Uh, hi, Shomi?...Yea, it's Hoshiko. Can…um, I come in Saturday? I have a party to go to and I need a style…yea, uh, I'm not sure."

Julius brow rose as he heard the woman on the other end chirp on about something. Hoshiko looked flustered. "O-okay, I'll leave it to you."

Sighing as she clicked off, she tapped her fingertips and glanced at him, "Do…I need to have an appointment to get my nails done…?"

Julius shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his zebra print wallet. Hoshiko stared at him blankly as he fished through, throwing a business card towards her.

"Go there. That's where I get my nails done."

"…You get your nails done?"

He held his hands out and she stared at them…"French manicure" he sighed airily.

"…You're such a woman!"

"And you're so not" he snorted, "You won't go, I bet. Go in to the party with your plain looking nails."

"Nah uh!"

Julius chuckled as she bristled…too fun, honestly. She copied the number and address from the card haughtily and put it in her satchel style purse.

"Now…just shoes and a dress" she groaned, "I guess…blue?"

"Well, it'd be pretty odd to wear lime green with a blue necklace" he smirked, brows rising.

"Yea, sounds too…you" she retorted.

Julius scowled and she smiled sweetly, taking the necklace and putting it in her satchel as well, "I'll figure it out."

"…Are you…sure you don't want help?" he said, suddenly worried that…well, she'd mess this up somehow. This was definitely going to be about image…

"Positive" she said shortly, standing, "I need to shop. I'll see you later."

He watched after her and groaned, slumping. Please, please, don't mess this up, he pleaded to her shadow.

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" _Do you want to go to dinner before the party? I bet the food at the party will suck."_

 _Shimizu Julius paused and glanced back at her as she looked through a magazine. Was she asking him to dinner?_

"… _Might be too romantic for my taste" he remarked._

 _She threw an eraser at him and he smirked as she glowered, "I was just OFFERING, dickwad."_

 _Julius smirked wider. Yea, who was he kidding? Hoshiko and romantic indeed. "Fine, I guess. Have you ever been to Bertinelli?"_

" _Mm, they have really good tortellini" she agreed, picking up the phone before pausing, "…They're okay?"_

 _He nodded as she dialed their number for reservations, looking up, "…So uh, how's your dress?"_

" _Puffy poofy princess" she said dryly, "With polka dots. We'll match."_

 _He leered at her. Smartass._

"You're a lucky jerk, Julius" growled Hoji.

It was the Saturday of the party. And Hoshiko had refused to show him her stupid dress! She gave him varying descriptions each day, ranging from spandex to chiffon to, something he'd never heard of, minkey, in a rainbow of colors such as pink, orange, and red, with stripes, polka dots, or a poncho. Ugh, nerve wracking.

And as if that weren't bad enough, when he arrived at Bertinelli's it seemed other coworkers decided it'd be a good idea to come to dinner here too. Candy, paired with Hoji, giggled, actually wearing one of Hoshiko's designs, a pretty ruby design with gold.

"Hoji-san wanted to be paired with Hoshiko."

Julius rolled his eyes, "I didn't ASK to be paired with her…"

"Idiot!" Hoji snarled.

Julius cocked a brow at him before sighing, "I'm worried. She decided to buy the dress herself…"

"I bet she looks really good" Candy insisted firmly, bright-eyed.

Julius snorted at that and Hoji scowled at him. Candy just sighed and Julius crossed his arms, smiling tightly at them, "Either way, you two are interrupting my date, tagging on to my table."

"Ah hah! It is a date" growled Hoji.

"Yea, it's a date alright, clutter brain" Julius snickered, glancing towards the door, "She's late."

If this weren't so important to Roshinko Day he'd be pretty intrigued by what she pulled together, he supposed. Hoshiko was 'cute' but in terms of 'striking', not…really? He guess it wasn't really her fault, she had no outstanding features but…

"Ah, there she is" Candy suddenly said.

He looked back and well…as odd as it sounded, he was pretty sure Candy was seeing things. He didn't see her.

…But…

"Woah, hi, guys."

He fought doing a double take pretty well. Couldn't help the gawking though.

In his mind, he'd expected a turtleneck or a t-shirt style top…she went halter, the strap thin and composed of silver jewels, matching the necklace pretty much perfectly. He knew she didn't have the advantage of showing off much cleavage but she had managed to get something or use some trick to make them appear…noticeable.

The rest of the dress was a matching blue to the jewel, long, satin, and clinging to her hips, a slit up the middle, and a pair of silver jeweled strappy heels. Her usually wavy hair was rather straight and pulled back at the top with an elaborate hair piece and in the back… longer?

Hoji, probably even more smitten than before, pulled her chair out for her. She smiled, her face even a little made up. Even her nails were blue, very professionally done.

"You look amazing, Hoshiko!" cooed Candy, "I think the necklace totally suits you."

"You too!" agreed Hoshiko, Candy wearing a similar dress except gold and red and strapless.

Julius just stared at her and she crossed her arms, snorting, "I did my best so if you have any complaints-"

"No" he coughed, "You…you look…nice."

"Just nice?!" demanded Hoji.

Julius sulked at him and Hoshiko smirked before they were asked to order. As she chattered with Candy and Hoji, he bit his thumb lightly. Okay, fine, she looked really, really good. Just when was he ever going to admit that kind of thing?

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"Ugh! He annoys the hell out of me!"

Hoshiko looked around anxiously, the two of them in his Jaguar, him driving… "…Isn't this a _really_ expensive car?"

"Fine, he has a little crush on you but he acted like a pre-pubescent teen throughout dinner! What is he, fourteen?!"

"I didn't even know you _had_ a car…"

"I didn't enjoy dinner whatsoever because he was there!"

Hoshiko finally smirked at him and crossed her arms, rubbing the flesh, "I'm sorry, Julius. Do you want to eat somewhere else?"

"No" he grumbled, "We have to get to the party. I'll just gorge on nachos at a 7-11 after."

She laughed, "Yea, in your _Jag._ Don't worry, I know a place where we can grab a bite later if you're really hungry."

As Julius had said, Hoji was drooling all over Hoshiko…and at his current state of being, remotely and soon to pass, interested in her, he grew irritated and a tad jealous. Who told the bastard he could join their table ANYWAY?

Candy was at least very pleasant and sweet, trying to get Hoji off Hoshiko and suggesting a few times that they go back to their own table. It didn't work, but she got points in his book for trying.

It was probably that moment when Hoji tried to feel up her arm that sent him off the edge, somewhere between appetizers and the main course. Frustrated, he grabbed Hoshiko's other arm that was safe from molestation and stood, smiling very tightly, saying they were leaving. The party was probably going to start soon.

Hoshiko had looked astonished as they marched out to the parking lot without another word, disengaged the alarm on his car. He paused, noting she seemed speechless before sighing and opening the door for her and climbing into the driver's seat. By that point she was still standing outside, looking….confused. He snorted and grasped her wrist, pulling her in before speeding away.

"This would feel almost James Bond-y if it weren't for your striped pants and maroon coat" she sighed airily.

He smirked, "I wanted to be able to match your polka dots."

She chuckled, "My bad."

"I've got a change for later in the night" he assured.

He flashed the invitation to the guy and allowed the valet to park his car…hesitantly. Hoshiko flustered, folding her arms, "I-I was always invited to things like this but I-I always found my way out of them."

He cocked a brow and she sighed heavily, "I guess if I weren't so stuck up and just…went, I'd be more comfortable with this."

He just blinked and shrugged, holding his arm out. She looked at him weirdly and he smirked, "Yea, seems like you don't know about this type of thing at all."

She pouted and he took her hand, placing it on the bend of his arm. Confused, she blanked as they walked into the crowd.

"So…you got extensions?" he questioned as they stood amidst everyone.

"Ah yea, I didn't know anything like that even existed" she laughed anxiously, "I…don't think I've ever had my hair this long."

"Well, you still haven't, it's not there forever" he chuckled.

She sighed and he dropped his arm for a moment, "Be right back, I'll get us some wine…though we shouldn't drink on an empty stomach."

Hoshiko smirked at him, "I'll see if I can grab us some appetizers."

He nodded and grabbed some red wine and white wine…she was pretty crazy on allergy medicine, he had to wonder how alcohol would go.

As he approached where he left her, he paused and found she was talking to another couple. Frowning, he wandered over and Hoshiko smiled.

"Oh, this is Julius, my coworker at Roshinko Day. We're both apart of the design team."

The two nodded at him and the four chatted for a while before another couple came and stole that couple away. Before, however, they informed Hoshiko and Julius they worked for an Italian corporation and were interested in buying stock in Roshinko Day. Huh, things were going well already.

His stomach suddenly growled and he groaned. Hoshiko chuckled as he muttered, "Stupid Hoji…"

"Here, they caught me before I could get the food. Why don't you grab a table and I'll grab you something?" she offered.

He nodded and she disappeared into the crowd as he located an empty spot. This was rather pleasant, he realized. Course, it'd be completely inappropriate for them to be throwing around insults at the party but eh.

Scowling when he noticed a group of men had stopped her but she smiled, said something, and headed back towards him…it kind of made him giddy.

…She was…way too interesting. He'd banished her to 'cute' but came out tonight…beautiful.

…But hey, his interest would pass.

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Hoshiko flushed, feeling so naked and not used to this much attention. She was pretty glad Julius was here, for some reason. His presence seemed to dissuade a lot of people from hitting on her…whatever that may have presumed.

Setting a plate of finger foods before him, she rested her hand on her stomach and groaned. Julius popped a puff into his mouth hungrily, cocking a brow at her as he munched.

"Something wrong with the baby?"

She glared at him, flushing, "WHAT?"

"I've only seen pregnant people hold their stomachs like that" he sighed airily, "When's it due? Who's the daddy?"

"Maybe YOU'RE the daddy" she said sulkily.

He snickered, "I don't know how THAT happened."

She stuck out her tongue but chuckled, "I'm hungry too. I'll be right back."

He nodded and she quickly went back to the table to retrieve something to eat. As she passed, she noticed a crowd. It was that type of crowd that gathered when something was going down.

Brows furrowing, she went over curiously…and was surprised when the crowd diminished to find Roomi and Jyun…?

Hoshiko watched, startled, as Jyun stroked away Roomi's tears as she cried over…something. It was…the weirdest, most tender thing she'd probably ever seen her brother do. She got closer and paused when a blue haired woman rushed towards the two, demanding what happened. Roomi, dressed in a pretty white gown, looked really upset, holding something tightly.

"Um…nothing, a…guy just wouldn't take no for an answer. Sorry…"

The woman frowned before noting, "Oh no, your necklace!"

Hoshiko blinked. Necklace? Jyun, doing another disturbingly affectionate action of patting Roomi's hair lightly, responded, "Don't worry, I'll see if I can get you a new chain, Roo."

Roomi looked depressed and Hoshiko cocked a brow, slowly moving closer. Her brother gave Roomi jewelry…?

The mystery lady must have thought this strange as well as she glanced between the two, "You…bought the necklace for her, Jyun?"

"Yea, for her birthday."

…Whaa?

"…Oh" said the woman.

Finally close enough, she felt curious about the whole situation but Roomi didn't look like she could care either way what was going on. If it was a minor break, she could probably fix it.

"Lemme see" she offered.

They jumped, a bit surprised, and Jyun turned, scowling, before looking stunned, "…Hoshiko?"

Roomi looked to her and seemed surprised too. Jyun sulked, staring her over weirdly, grunting. "The hell."

"Shut up and show me the necklace" Hoshiko glared.

Sniveling, Roomi handed it to her and Hoshiko examined it. She was startled. What a high karat…it had to be WAY expensive. And…Jyun got it for her?

"Wow, this is a way expensive chain…" she noted, realizing she wasn't as adept at the repair part of jewelry as she should be. "Hold on, let me see if Julius can do anything."

Jyun's alpha male 'I-must-kill-any-male-in-contact-with-my-female-family' alarms must have gone off as he demanded, "The f—k is Julius?"

She didn't bother to answer and walked towards the table she left him at. All her brother had to do was see this rival male and all fears should drop.

After a moment, the two followed her and Hoshiko sat down beside Julius who cocked a brow. "What…?"

"Can you fix this?" she asked, holding the chain up.

His brows furrowed and he took it from her before whistling, "This is _Mamiya_. Who _breaks_ Mamiya?"

Once again floored, she glanced back at the two who were approaching. Mamiya? Her brother bought a woman one of the most expensive, well-known, some-could-only-dream-about jewelry in all of Japan?

…What was going on?

"…Oh, now it makes sense" he snorted as Roomi and Jyun appeared.

Roomi gave him a look that could kill…and Jyun just gave him a very confused look. Hoshiko sighed and pursed her lips, "Can you fix it or not?"

"Mm, I'll see what I can do…" he said, staring at the break, "This is 20 karats. Better, prettier quality, just tends to break easier."

Hoshiko nodded and he reached into his pocket, taking out his kit and getting to work. Hoshiko had the two grab a seat and ran off to gather wine and snacks for everyone. When she returned, Julius was holding the chain up, closing an eye, the break seeming to be fixed…

"It's a quick fix. It should hold as long as there's no strain but to ensure something random doesn't happen, I'd take it into Mamiya to have them either repair or replace the chain."

Jyun nodded slowly before glancing at Roomi, "…Are you sure?"

"Jyun" she glowered, taking the necklace.

Hoshiko cocked a brow and sat, placing the platters in front of everyone. Blanking as the two whispered to each other and Roomi glared at Jyun more and more, she wasn't really sure what to think of this. Her brother kind of held contempt for the everyday average relationship…but he seemed awfully couply with Roomi.

She did smirk when Jyun stared bewildered at Julius who was just absently eating, probably still starving despite the appetizers. It was kind of funny, the one 'man' she shows to her brother was the rather flamboyant Julius. Even if that kind of thing was going on between them, God forbid, she couldn't see him being that angry and 'grr' at him just for that aspect.

Jyun questioned Roomi suddenly, "Sure you two aren't related?"

Roomi looked like she could strangle him, "For the last damn time, Jyun, NO."

Hoshiko snickered. That'd be pretty odd…but purple hair was a kind of odd feature. Maybe they were distant cousins and didn't know it.

"You don't have to be so cranky" Jyun pouted at her, "He _did_ fix your necklace…"

"I know. I was just so upset when he snapped it like that. I'm still so happy you gave it to me to begin with" Roomi said silently.

Hoshiko stared between them. Jyun almost had this kind of comforting expression that just managed to confuse her even more and she wondered…what was going on between them?! It wasn't normal, not for her stupid onii-san!

Julius, not in on her brother's playboy nature, questioned randomly, "So…are you two dating?"

They both looked up from their little world and blinked at him.

"I doubt it, my brother's not quite the 'dating' type" Hoshiko informed Julius.

Hoshiko didn't quite think it was _that_ …but then, Jyun also wasn't the type to go out and buy a woman a birthday present. That meant that they were…special. And Jyun knew making a woman feel special meant they thought they were more than a fling…and buying her jewelry at that?

"Alas, he's not the 'give women pretty effin expensive jewelry' type either" she inserted, rather inquisitively glancing at him.

Jyun, in one of those once every blue moon actions, _blushed,_ "I can't be nice, you mean?"

Hoshiko snorted. Right. "Yea, there's nice and there's _nice_."

"And that's definitely on the latter end" Julius added, sending a look at Roomi, "Shame, giving Mamiya to someone who'd let it get broken."

Roomi, probably already on the short end of a burning fuse and Julius also not being one of her favorite people, growled "Shut up, drag queen-"

"Roomi" Jyun interrupted.

She glared at him, "WHAT?"

Jyun laughed nervously, obviously not aware of the previous conversation Roomi had had with Julius, "I just had a feeling you were going to say something completely not PC…"

Hoshiko laughed at both the look Roomi was giving Jyun and the fact that Roomi had called Julius 'hooker with a penis', a rather un-PC statement. Jyun just smiled anxiously and it was strangely cute…but still! "Wow, you two definitely seem couple-like, stop it."

They seemed to have a comment ready for this but the woman that had been with them before called from across the room, "Roomi! Jyun!"

Roomi sent a sulky look in her direction, saying monotonously, "Our master calls"

"Think she'd notice if we ignored her?" Jyun pondered in a similar tone.

Not so. The woman called louder, "Hurry up!"

They both sighed in unison and Jyun rose, helping Roomi up, "Well…I'll…talk to you later. You look like a FREAK, by the way."

"She does not" scowled Roomi, hitting him, "She's gorgeous and I am so proud of her. I didn't even have to help."

Hoshiko blushed and Jyun sighed, "I am _kidding_. I am the brother; it's my sacred duty to make fun of her."

Hoshiko stuck out her tongue but he added, "You do look pretty. Get some pics for mama."

Flustered, she nodded slowly and the two disappeared into the crowd. Julius stared after them, raising a brow. "You have a curious brother."

"Curious?" she snorted, "Don't you mean 'idiot'?"

He smirked, "Might explain your masculine qualities, he's kind of…femme."

Hoshiko laughed, biting a puff, "Look who's talking! But true, Jyun's always had long hair like that and dressed fancy like that. Should my brother be prettier than me?"

He opened his mouth but paused…before sighing, cocking a brow, "Hoji."

Hoshiko's brow also rose before she smiled vaguely as footsteps rushed up behind them. Hoji.

"Ah hah! I found you!"

"Do me a favor and unfind us" Julius snorted loudly.

Hoji glared heatedly as Julius glared back and Hoshiko sighed, trying to think of a way to separate the two, "Uh, Julius, were you going to change?"

"Yes" he grumbled, "I'll be back…"

Hoji looked giddy but Hoshiko smiled sweetly, standing, "I'm going to schmooze. Join me, _Candy_?"

Hoji looked crushed and Candy, oblivious, nodded rapidly, the two walking off into the crowd. Julius snickered. Well played.

Wandering back to his car, he pulled out a traditional black and white tux that he somehow managed to put it on in his convertible. Going back in, pulling the top portion of his hair back while leaving the rest loose, somewhat inspired by Hoshiko's brother since it was REALLY hot in there, he looked around for his 'partner'.

He sulked when he found Hoji had caught up, drooling all over her again…and this time she looked fairly irritated. Uh oh. This might get ugly, he noted. Quickening his step and arriving at her, he tucked his hand under her arm. She jumped a bit and glanced at him, startled.

"Well, if you'll excuse us, we have work to do" Julius shot Hoji a look, "And I feel I should remind you that you do as well."

Hoji glared and Julius led her away, grumbling, "Sheesh, some guys…."

Hoshiko rubbed her brow, "Yea, it's getting…excessive."

"It's _been_ excessive."

She snickered and they went around for a while, introducing and displaying their 'piece'. By the time they had a good amount of dealers interested, it was already midnight.

Hoshiko slammed down and rubbed her feet, grimacing, "I haven't worn heels longer than a minute in my life."

Julius cocked a brow and stared at her toes, apparent she'd gotten a pedicure as well, the blue polish done perfectly. He didn't know why but he expected size eleven giant feet…alas they were really dainty.

"Since I'm carrying your baby you should rub them" she stuck out her tongue, leering since he seemed to be staring at them rather intensely.

"Maybe...once you explain how that happened" he returned the gesture.

"Satan."

He laughed, "Seriously."

He patted his knee and she stared at him weirdly. He smirked, "I thought you wanted me to rub your feet."

Her face grew bright red, "Wh-what? No! I was just kidding!"

Julius chuckled, "I do have a bit of a foot fetish."

Hoshiko stared at him blankly and he laughed at her expression, "I'm KIDDING."

"…I don't know…" she said suspiciously, "Seems right up your alley."

He snickered, "Thanks."

She slouched and sighed, grumbling, glancing to her side, "Fine, I guess. But not all out in the open."

Julius sighed, sliding his hands under the tablecloth. Hoshiko cocked a brow, "I kind of still want to see."

"We're not playing footsy, woman" he snorted.

She glowered at him but set her foot on his knee and he massaged the appendage gingerly. She closed her eyes. "If we were caught, it'd be repulsing…you know, since you're touching my feet."

"I've watched enough Japanese porn to know we're not as repulsed as we think we are" Julius remarked.

Hoshiko stared at him again before commenting, "Give me my foot back."

He chuckled before realizing…

How did he go from calling her a conniving fake to…rubbing her feet and chatting with her casually? That was a pretty large leap…

"You know…" she said, interrupting his thoughts, "You look a lot less…strange in normal clothes, even with the purple hair and red eyes."

He glanced at her and sighed, "But normal is so…boring."

"Yea, but white furry coats with red pants and an orange belt is so…weird."

Julius gave her a smirk as he tickled her foot in response. She laughed, trying to snatch it away from his grasp, "Stop! I was just playing! You can wear whatever craziness you want!"

"Craziness, huh?"

He tickled her more and she laughed heavily, whining, "Stoppp!"

"WHAT are you doing?"

He groaned. Hoji was like a freaking parasite. Julius cocked a brow at Hoji who was glaring daggers at him. Blinking innocently, he grinned and continued tickling her feet but began slowly dragging her forward, almost pulling her under the table feet first.

"Julius, I will kill you!" she giggled uncontrollably, grasping the arms of her chair to hinder him.

Hoji's glare got heated and Julius grinned lazily, "Don't you see we're busy?"

"You-"

"Hoshi, sweetie, the baby must be _famished_ since we skipped dinner. Let's head on out and conjure up some food" he sighed airily.

"BABY?"

Hoshiko snickered, pulling herself up and sticking out her tongue at Julius, snatching her foot away when he released it, "You sure? Have we done enough advertising?"

"We've done more than our part" he snorted, "Let's roll."

"BABY?"

"I am pretty hungry…" she sighed, pulling her shoes back on.

He stood, ignoring Hoji's incredulous look and helping her up before smiling tightly at Hoji, "Well, see you later. Do me a favor and uh, don't stalk."

"BABY?"

Julius quickly escaped with Hoshiko, the valet pulling up with his car. The two climbed in, quickly escaping to the main road. He rolled his eyes, letting out a huff. "Thank God."

"I don't know about that baby thing" she sulked, "I don't want that kind of rumor going around…"

"Yea, because I'm totally banging you in the broom closet of RD" Julius remarked sarcastically.

She sent him a glare before shrugging, "Who knows what people think? We do yell a lot in the office…"

Julius was rather amused by that, laughing heavily before saying in a seductive, sexually suggestive tone, quoting some lines from their arguments' past. "Oh, you cross dressing dick, I'll kick your ass if you look at me again!"

Hoshiko laughed as well, "It…could be romantic?"

"Believe me, Hoshiko, if someone yelled that out during sex..." he chuckled, breaking off.

Hoshiko laughed more, "Okay, fine, true enough. It's not likely... but do you think Hoji believed it?"

Cocking a brow, he pondered, "Possibly…"

She suddenly pointed, "Turn here."

He cocked a brow but followed her directions until they pulled up in front of a really nice restaurant that was still open. Blinking as she climbed out, he followed, confused.

"…Where are we?"

"Tenshiya."

Tenshiya...this place stayed booked for weeks. How did she assume she could just waltz in here whenever she wanted? He looked around and frowned...yep, busy. She voiced his concerns: "This place is so packed all the time…"

He nodded. And it was 12:30 yet that didn't seem to bother anyone here…

"…Wow, Hoshiko? You look stunning."

She jumped a bit and looked up. And oh, she looked up, he blanked, having to look up a bit himself. She blushed. "Thanks, Steiner-kun…"

…Who the hell was this?

"What brings you by?" the mystery male questioned.

"We just came from a party that just served a lot of spinach puffs…" Hoshiko explained slowly.

The white-haired giant chuckled, "Ah. Let me see, I can probably put you on the veranda…"

"I don't want to inconvenience anyone" she said warily.

"Nah, I usually close it after ten" he informed, waving them forward.

Hoshiko nodded slowly and looked around, "You're here rather late. Is Kaede cool with that?"

He snickered, "She's at some art opening until two anyway. I'll be going home with her."

Suddenly he scowled, glaring towards an open area, "Skye, be careful with your little sister, _akuma_."

Julius cocked a brow as three little kids were playing on what seemed to be a closed stage area. There was a boy with brown hair and white highlights. The kid stuck out his tongue, holding a white haired baby that was gnawing on her fist. The man sighed and wandered over quickly.

"Don't do that, precious. Daddy gave you something to nibble on…" he groaned, picking up a teething ring from a bag.

The baby giggled and waved for him. He groaned again and took her, swatting his apparent son off, "Since your sister doesn't want your company, go make yourself useful and…play the piano or something."

He nodded and went onto the stage where a white grand piano was, starting to play Mozart…wow. The baby nestled her nose into the neck of her father as he returned to show them to the terrace.

"Will you go to sleep, sweetie? I know this is your first time out all late but your mama will kick me for getting you off schedule."

The baby gurgled and Hoshiko smirked, "Well, Kaede shouldn't expect her to be able to sleep here anyway…"

"She'll kick me anyway" he snickered.

Well, there wasn't anything weird going on, it seemed…still, who were these people? On the terrace it was nice and quiet, Steiner seating them at a table with no one around them.

"Oh yea, Steiner, this is Julius, my coworker from Roshinko Day" Hoshiko finally introduced, "Julius, this is my cousin's husband and owner of Tenshiya, Yukina Steiner."

Woah…Hoshiko was remotely related to the person that owned the Tenshiya restaurant line? Crazy. They exchanged some pleasantries and he almost started off to get them drinks. Felicie was twisting around in his arms wildly and he grimaced, trying to hold her still.

"Did they slip you caffeine?" he grumbled.

Hoshiko laughed, "I'll, uh, hold her if it'll free you up."

"Are you sure?" Steiner cocked a brow, "It'd help a lot but I don't want Felicie to bother you while you guys eat."

"We'll be fine" she responded, holding her arms out.

Felicie, giddy, slipped into her arms easily and Hoshiko smiled, bouncing her. Julius observed this, crossing his arms, as Hoshiko actually baby talked to the child.

"…Okay, this might be _too_ effeminate" he remarked after a while.

She looked up and flustered as if she'd forgotten he was there… "I-I'm just keeping her occupied, sheesh!"

He leaned forward, resting his chin in his palms on his raised elbows, smiling after a moment, "You'd probably make a weird mother."

Hoshiko scowled, pinking, "I-I don't want kids…"

"Uh huh…"

"I don't! B-because that'd mean I'd have to marry…well, I-I mean not necessarily but I'd want a home for my child and I'm not interested in pursuing anyone…" she explained quickly.

Julius tilted his head, "I see…"

…That…interested him more than he liked to admit…

…Because it sounded like a challenge.

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Notes:

Remember, Tenshiya is Steiner's restaurant. Created in Chapter 17 of Yuki…wow, it's been a while, huh? And Felicie and Skye are Steiner and Kaede's children.


	6. Like Good

**Chapter 6:** Like Good

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews! Indeed, it seems to run in the family, the making up of random stories, lol. And I noted it without writing the note but at the beginning, Hoshiko said '…did you know your hair is purple?'. Sounds like another certain brother in another certain story… coincidental? I think…not? XD

Good luck on your finals! (And this is to everyone stuck in that horrible time of the year)

And happy reading! Oh yea, sexual at the beginning…but I'd kind of try to skip around the kinkiness and at least read the dialogue. Those parts are at least important to other portions of the story.

Enjoy n.n

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Julius awkwardly stared at his computer screen, thankfully pointing _away_ from Yagami Hoshiko who was pretty much ignoring him to chatter with Candy anyway.

After a really good dinner, he'd driven her home, being too late for him to allow her to take a cab. She really didn't live that far from him, actually…stepping out, she kind of swayed, groaning.

" _My feet hurt so much!" she cried._

 _He sighed, "Want me to carry you?"_

" _No" she grumbled, taking off her heels, "Thanks for bringing me home."_

 _He nodded simply and she swallowed, "Uh…it was nice."_

" _Mm" he murmured._

" _You'll make it back okay, right?" she questioned._

 _He snickered, waving as he headed back towards his car, "I'll make it. Good night."_

" _Good night" she replied._

 _Kind of good way to end the night, he supposed…_

… _Of course, his dreams seemed to have thought there had been a better way. He hated dreams. Especially this dream that was so lifelike he was fairly sure it could have happened._

 _He was lying in bed innocently, wearing his purple silky pajamas. It was decently warm so he just laid on top of the sheets. He was sleeping in the dream…_

 _Until a hand ran up his stomach…_

 _He jumped, horrified, and started to grab the hand of whoever it was. Glaring, he jumped, mortified…_

… _Hoshiko?_

 _Her hair was still the same as from the party…The only difference was she was naked._

 _He'd naturally never seen her naked so his imagination must have made up a viable image. Hissing, he started to grab a blanket to cover her._

" _What the hell are you doing?! Are you nuts?!" he demanded._

 _She chuckled some and shoved him down on his back. Gawking at her as she sat on top of his crotch, she unbuttoned his shirt._

" _I'm not the one that's nuts…" she answered simply._

 _He opened his mouth to retort negatively to that but she took his hand. He shivered as she slid his index finger into her mouth. Groaning as she flicked her tongue at his fingertip suggestively, he grimaced as he stiffened, admittedly turned on. She smiled, popping his finger out of her mouth as she leaned forward over him. His breath caught as she stroked him through his pants._

" _I…s-stop…" he groaned, raspy._

 _She ignored him and slipped her tongue into his mouth, drawing his out to meet. His eyes closed as her hand slipped under the band of his pants, pulling him out and jerking him off._

" _Nn…"_

" _Do you like it?" she whispered into his ear, pulling away from his lips._

" _No" he gasped._

 _But her tongue darted around the cartilage of his ear and he almost lost control, grabbing her ass before quickly releasing, alarmed._

" _HOSHIKO, stop!" he hissed, grabbing her and forcing her under him._

 _But he froze, stunned, as he grasped her wrists, on top of her. She looked up at him with a seductive smile he'd never even seen._

" _If you like to be on top, that's fine too. I know you have to be in control."_

" _Shut up" he hissed._

" _It's curious why you're so interested in a girl that would never let you dominate her. She doesn't fit your expectations" 'Hoshiko' remarked._

 _What? He almost demanded what she was talking about but she ran her fingertips gingerly down the side of his face, gazing at him absently._

" _But then, she may be just what you need."_

 _Confused and about to lose it and throw her out on her ass, he gawked when she shifted her hips, drawing him inside of her…_

 _It was those sensory portions of the dream that got him…they felt so real, he was almost certain Hoshiko was in his bed. Moaning, his eyes rolled back, he rasped."H-Hoshiko, please…"_

" _Please what?" she purred, wrapping her legs around his waist._

 _He groaned and couldn't fight it, throwing his hips forward and driving inside of her, back and forth. She cried out, hugging his neck. Julius bit his lip, shutting his eyes tight, in disbelief he was even going along with this._

 _Suddenly she was whispering into his ear, feathery, provocative, a tone he didn't recognize from her. "It's okay…she's untouchable."_

 _This cryptic s—t was starting to be a turn-off, he noted, glowering at her, "WHAT?"_

" _What makes you think she'd ever get into bed with you?" she snorted before smiling, pulling him down to face her, saying in a tone he DEFINITELY recognized, "…This is a dream, stupid."_

He'd woken up in a cold sweat, wide-eyed …amongst other issues.

Why? Why on EARTH did he have a dream like that? He was supposed to LOSE interest in her, not take it to _that_ level!

He'd considered calling out Monday so he could avoid seeing her…but that seemed silly. So, he came in and she arrived later, her hair still long…and God, was it sexy like that.

…NO!

Grasping his forehead, he massaged his temples after a moment.

"Julius, what did you want for lunch today?" questioned Hoshiko, apparently standing after Candy left.

"…I don't want anything" he mumbled, truly not the least bit hungry.

She cocked a brow, or, he assumed she did as he was still facing his computer, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" he said shortly.

"Really…" she said in a voice that suggested she didn't believe him.

"Look, I'm working. You're distracting me!" he snapped, growing anxious, "Why don't you actually go do some work?"

She might have recoiled, "Well, I'm sorry for being concerned!"

"No one asked for your 'concern'" he growled.

"…You're such a bitch."

He started to glare back at her…but he definitely recoiled, finding the miserable look she was giving him.

"I thought we were getting along better and you're still an ass. I hate you!"

His eyes widened as she ran out of the office and he groaned, dropping his head on the desk. D'oh…

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"Sheesh…why am I getting so emotional?"

Hoshiko stood under the canopy near somewhere. She'd just kind of run wherever the path took her…and now, it was raining. Ugh.

What was wrong with her? She sighed, rubbing her neck. It wasn't like Julius didn't get kind of 'feisty' from time to time…time to time? It happened ALL the time. And hell, maybe he was still tired from the party, they'd spent hours on their feet. He just may have been cranky or having a bad day. Sighing, she slumped…she definitely overreacted.

Why'd she do that? Just when she thought they'd be okay she messed it up! Him messing up? That was totally on him. But her? Ugh! …Maybe…she just couldn't be in good standing with people…maybe…it was too late to change.

"What's wrong with you, kid?"

She jumped, shocked, as her brother appeared out of absolutely nowhere beside her, wearing a black hoodie and a pair of jeans, just looking…ordinary. He even had stubble on his face…

"…Jyun?"

"Duh."

"You look like a bum" she grunted.

"Thanks" he snickered, shifting his bag on his shoulder, "I'm just chilling out today. I wasn't that concerned about appearance."

Hoshiko had never heard of such from Mr. Metro himself but whatever. He scowled at her suddenly, "Where is your coat? What are you even doing out here? Isn't RD way back that way?"

She sulked at him, "I just needed a walk so I ran out before it started raining. I'm not scared of a little rain."

Jyun stared at her for a long moment before questioning, "Where did you get that shirt?"

Cocking a brow at his randomness, she groaned, "Roomi said it'd look good on me."

It was a white shirt, hanging on her shoulders, the neck kind of scooping down and showing off a little cleavage which was awkward but she liked it…

"It's just cotton, it won't ruin getting wet" she muttered.

Jyun looked exasperated, rubbing his forehead, "Hoshiko."

"What!"

"Do you ever wonder why in wet t-shirt contests the women are almost always wearing…white?"

She blanked and he rolled his eyes around, "If white gets wet, especially that thin shirt you have, you might as well be wearing plastic wrap for all it covers."

Hoshiko squeaked, rather alarmed, and covered her chest, "T-that's-"

He smirked at her before peeking in his bag, pulling out a gray hoodie, and dropping it on her head. She scowled, surprised, but muttered. "What's this for?"

"Put it on."

Frowning, she pulled the hoodie over her head, the article pretty much swallowing her. Tucking her hair down the neck, she pulled the hoodie up and looked at her arms.

"Why do you have another hoodie if you're already wearing one…?"

"Mm, Roomi gets cold randomly sometimes so I carry it around for her" he shrugged.

Glancing at him, surprised, "…Really."

"Yep."

Nicknames, expensive jewelry, coddling, and now, another woman's comfort. What WAS going on with those two?

"So now, tell me, what's wrong?"

Frowning, she stared at her feet and mumbled, "…I'm stupid."

Jyun's brows furrowed as she looked glum, "I got into a fight with Julius…and Julius and I always fight but we got along really well at the party so I thought we'd be…okay."

"Why does it matter? Do you like him?" demanded Jyun.

She rolled her eyes, glowering at him, "No!"

He crossed his arms and she sulked again, "I just…prefer getting along with him over fighting is all. Does that mean I like him?"

"Not really" Jyun allowed, "I can't say it's all that great to have an arguing relationship. But…arguments do happen sometimes, y'know? And especially if your relationship was like that before, where all you did was argue. Habits are hard to kick."

"I guess…" she agreed, "I feel like I should apologize."

"That's a first" Jyun snorted.

She swung at him and he dodged, grinning lazily, "Come on, baby sister, brother will get you some cake. That always makes you feel better."

She pouted at this, "It also gets me fat."

He snickered, guiding her up the road, "Fat indeed. You've always been abnormally skinny. You and Kyo could eat cream pie for every meal of the day and not see any weight gain."

"Huh. I hadn't noticed" she mused.

"Me on the other hand, I'm obese" he sighed airily.

She smirked since Jyun and 'obese' might as well have been antonyms. She frowned as they entered a restaurant, 'The Village', and he ordered a bowl of very berries along with a drink. She looked around, observing her brother's restaurant of choice. It had a kind of old school rustic feel…

"This doesn't seem like one of your stomping grounds" she observed.

"Mm, Roomi got me hooked" he said, idly looking at his smartphone, "Their pancakes are like good- …never mind."

Again, Roomi. "Like what?" she pressed.

"Something you shouldn't know about" he waved a hand, typing something on his phone.

She glared, "Something I shouldn't know about? What does _that_ mean?"

"Don't worry about it."

'Like good' insert subject that she shouldn't apparently know about. Suddenly it hit her since this was her pimp of a brother she was talking to. Sulking, she grunted at him, flustering, "You are such a perv."

"Well, they are, my better-be-virgin sister" he glared up at her.

She rolled her eyes, "I think the times have passed when my brothers can control who I have sex with. You know, since maybe the…19th century?"

His eyes narrowed, "Have you?"

"No, I haven't! Not that that's any of your business!"

He glared and she glared back, "You and dad and every other guy in our family with testosterone are psycho! What if all the females in the family got on you about having a sexual relationship, huh?"

"I do. She's called 'our mother'."

Hoshiko chuckled at that, "True. That's _one_ though."

"That _one_ is as bad as a hundred" he groaned.

She smirked and his glare returned, "Just know that if you do do it with someone, he better be a runner because I'll find him."

She groaned next, shaking her head, "Is it so bad?"

"I've had enough sex to know if I were those women's fathers, I'd kill me" he shrugged.

Hoshiko laughed, throwing a sugar packet at him, "You're a hypocrite then! If you feel that way, why should _you_ get to have sex either? Their fathers are already in your shoes!"

"I don't know!" he sulked, "Look, I'm sure whatever happens, it'll happen. Just know I won't like it. A bit."

"Okay" she smirked, sipping her pink lemonade.

"And you better make sure he's not some sleaze bag either" he growled.

"Jyun, like you, I really have no desire to be in a relationship" she rolled her eyes, "So you need not worry."

"Mm…I'm sure you'll pick up someone with your Princess Leia hair" he snorted.

"How is this Princess Leia hair?" she demanded.

"Correction: slave dancer Princess Leia" he amended.

She smirked at him, "Oh, okay, I'll live out some geek's fantasy."

"I'll beat up nerds too" Jyun sighed.

Hoshiko laughed and opened the menu, "I guess I'll get some French toast."

"Mm, that doesn't sound bad" he agreed.

She closed the menu and crossed her arms, pinning him with a look as he glanced at his cell phone for the umpteenth time with a marked scowl.

"What, your 'wifey' not talking to you?" she noted airily.

He looked up at her for a brief moment before glancing back down, "You know something I don't?"

"Nope, but I'm surprised you didn't comment about not calling her that."

"I don't know, it's just a playful thing."

"Playful thing?" she demanded, "Wifey and hubby? It's like calling you 'honey', 'sweetie', or 'baby' or something. It's weird!"

He looked up again and smiled rather awkwardly, "She…calls me those things too."

Hoshiko just stared at him and he coughed, "Really, it's no big deal. She's not talking to me though, not since the party."

"That's two days" she said dryly.

"Yea, well, still. She slept at my place after and just left without a word. I haven't heard from her since then."

"'Slept'?" she tweaked a brow.

"Yea, well…"

She smirked, "Well, that's…interesting."

The waitress walked up and they ordered, the food arriving in no time. She sliced the French toast and was surprised as she ate.

"Oh my God, that is yummy."

"It's like you'd imagine good sex would be" Jyun stuck out his tongue, still slicing his.

She returned the gesture, "Baka."

"Oi! If there's a family reunion, I want to know about it!"

Hoshiko looked up, scowling, and Jyun smirked, "Kyo…I thought you were in the States in Alaska by now."

Yagami Kyo, the last piece to the sibling group, scowled himself, placing his hands on his hips before staring at her widely, "Holy crap, is that your hair?!"

"No, idiot, its extensions" she rolled her eyes, "My hair doesn't grow that fast."

She scowled as he started to actually tug it. She took a light swing at him as he pursed his lips, "Looks attached to _me_."

"Stop pulling our sister's hair, jackass, we're not eleven anymore" Jyun snorted.

Hoshiko smirked at Jyun as Kyo dropped down beside her, grabbing the menu and grumbling, "All this girliness is starting to scare me, stop! And oh my God, she's showing off boobage!"

"I am not showing off boobage, I don't have any!"

"Why won't Roomi reply?!" demanded Jyun, gritting his teeth and glaring at his phone.

"Speaking of boobage" snorted Kyo.

"Fine" he grumbled, "See if I care. I'll just ignore her too."

"Mature, Jyun, very mature" Hoshiko snickered.

She glanced at her phone though and found Julius hadn't called to demand where she was or anything. Really, blowing up couldn't have been much help to his mood…unless he was happier with her out of the office, which could have been the case. But…who knew? Like she'd said, she wanted to be the one on good terms even if he didn't.

"Ah! They always have such huge salads with like a whole chicken on it" Kyo said contently when the waitress brought him his chicken strip salad.

"Like you're going to begin to be full off a salad" snorted Jyun.

"I dunno, that is pretty big…" Hoshiko remarked, staring at the gigantic bowl.

"If I want more, I'll get more. I got paid this week" Kyo said happily.

Jyun just sighed and Kyo groaned, eating a mouthful, "Why is their food _so_ good, oh my God."

"Like good sex?" Hoshiko remarked absently.

Kyo slammed his palm down, pointing his fork and a dark glare at her, "And WHAT do you know about that?!"

"It's okay, Kyo, this discussion is old news already" sighed Jyun airily, "She played out some geek's wet dream, cosplaying as slave Princess Leia."

"The f—k! I'll kill him!"

"Well, it's already passed, idiot" Jyun remarked, staring at him seriously, "I broke out my light saber and everything for it. Where were you?"

"I don't know what miffs me more" grumbled Kyo, "That you killed him without me or that you have a light saber."

"Kyo, Jyun" she groaned but laughed.

"But seriously, you're joking, right?" Kyo growled.

"I have no men in my life" Hoshiko said bluntly.

Kyo cocked a brow and Hoshiko didn't look at him, keeping her gaze pointed towards in front of her as she punched his temple with medium force. "OR women, ass-hat."

Jyun chuckled, eating his last bit before looking at her, "So are you playing hooky, young lady? I don't condone such practices."

"Interesting as you live them" Kyo remarked.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

"I plan to go back, sheesh" she chuckled, picking the menu back up, "I wonder if they have anything with pumpkin…"

They both blehed, none of them particularly fond of the squash. Kyo demanded, " _Whu_ would you want something with pumpkin?"

Planning on leaving soon anyway, she smiled brightly, "Baby cravings."

They both stared at her for a moment and she smiled, finding some soup, something Julius seemed to like. When she ordered it, that seemed to kill her company.

"BABY?! With who?!" demanded Kyo.

"My baby's daddy is none of your business" she sighed contently.

"Yea…if or when it happens, it _so_ will be" Jyun remarked, leering at her and seeming practical enough to realize she was joking.

"Why'd she order soup then?!" growled Kyo.

Hoshiko rolled her eyes, "It's for a coworker, Kyo, get a grip."

Kyo pouted and muttered, "Well…a baby might be cool."

"How is a baby cool but me having sex isn't?! They go hand in hand!" she demanded incredulously.

Kyo pointed out in a reasonable tone, "You don't _have_ to have sex to have a baby."

She rubbed her temple and shook her head while Jyun smirked, "Stop while you're behind, Kyo…"

The second oldest pouted and polished off his salad, yawning, "I'm still kind of hungry but I'd rather have a nap."

"Mm, the circle of Kyo's sad life" Jyun remarked dryly, "Nap, eat, nap, eat, disappear."

Kyo flicked him off and Hoshiko smiled as the waitress appeared, startled by the obscene gesture, and slowly handed the soup and tabs to them. Yep, those were her onii-sans.

She reached for her purse…before realizing she ran off without it, "UGH!"

"I said I'd pay for you anyway, punk" Jyun snorted, reaching into his pocket and dropping a few bills, standing.

"I'll pay you back" she mumbled as they walked out.

She squealed as he randomly swung her up into his arms, kissing her forehead playfully, "I can pay for my cute baby sister's food and not need repayment, silly."

"Ewww!" she whined, struggling, "That's so gross! And your face is scratchy!"

Kyo laughed as Jyun grinned, setting her down as she gave him a petulant moue, "You guys _still_ drive me nuts!"

Jyun snickered, slinging his arm around her shoulders and walking back in the direction of RD, "That's our job, silly. Besides, at least we're not pulling your hair anymore."

She smirked before realizing…maybe she'd been wrong.

She'd definitely despised her brothers' presences a lot of her life…and well, now, maybe they still playfully bugged her but it definitely wasn't so bad with them anymore.

…It didn't have to be so bad with Julius either.

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Kyo scowled when they walked up to Roshinko Day, "Sheesh, is this building big enough?"

Hoshiko snickered, "It's a store as well, silly."

Roomi pulled the hoodie over her head as she stood under the awning in front of the building, handing it back to Jyun, "Thanks for that."

"No problem…and no wet t-shirts for you. Remember to carry at least an umbrella" he grumbled.

She stuck out her tongue and the two bid her farewell, waving as they walked up the road, presumably towards their apartments. She waved back and sighed, starting to turn towards the door.

"…Where have you been?"

Her heart leaped to her throat and she gawked, finding Julius standing in the shadows of a tree beside the doors. Glowering, she clenched her chest.

"JESUS, you scared me!"

He grunted, "You've been gone for two hours! And in the rain, no less! I looked all over RD for you and was getting ready to go out and look when you _finally_ showed back up!" 

She sulked, "It wasn't like I got kidnapped or something. And I had my phone."

Julius glared and grumbled, starting to stalk back into the building, "Fine, whatever. I'm sorry I wasted my concern."

"I was concerned too" she said tartly, "And you bit my head off so what's the difference?"

He paused before finally responding, "I'm…just tired and confused. I know you were just…being nice. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I wasn't aiming to get you upset with me, I promise."

Blinking, he turned to her and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Just…kind of be a little more…level? I mean, some day's you'd stand there and cuss me out and others, like today, you'd run out looking ready to cry. I think we're both kind of bad at that."

She nodded glumly, "You're right…but…I thought we were getting along better…I guess I felt irritated because now that we're back here it didn't seem so."

Hoshiko looked at him slowly, "But, you know, everyone has bad days so I shouldn't have yelled at you like that either so…"

Holding out the soup, she bowed, "I'm sorry too."

Julius stared at it blankly before taking it from her, "What's this?"

"Pumpkin soup from this restaurant my brothers and I just ate at" she smiled, "The other food was yummy so I thought this would be good too."

"…Thank you. I was feeling a little hungry." he admitted.

He slammed down on a nearby bench and patted the seat beside him. Frowning, she slowly walked over and sat beside him. Using the plastic spoon in the bag, he sipped the soup slowly.

"Mm, that is good…"

She nodded, seeming pleased by this. He took another spoonful before swallowing, glancing at her, "Hoshiko…for, uh, most of the time we've been working together, I…do stuff out of…habit. It usually has nothing to do with you, just…it's something that I've always done and…I don't necessarily feel you deserve it."

She looked extremely puzzled and he laughed softly, "I don't know any other way to put it. Just don't feel too offended if I do something like…today. Or…anything I've done in the last few months. It's just my own issues that I've never been able to control and it's wrong of me to take them out on you. I've tried changing."

"I, uh, understand" she smiled some, "It's…okay."

"It's not" he said bitterly.

Hoshiko frowned and he quickly smiled, "Uh, anyway…I'm pretty tired and thinking about heading out early. Did you want a ride home?"

She shook her head, "I should probably do some more work, I've been gone for a while."

"I'll wait for you then" he sighed, pushing a chunk of pumpkin around.

"What? No, that's okay. Go home, you do seem drowsy…"

"It's dark and rainy and it'll be impossible for you to hail a cab. I'll wait" he repeated, staring absently ahead of him.

"Uh…if…you want. It's not necessary" she laughed nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Mm."

He stared at the soup, his brows raising, "You'll definitely have to show me where you got this. I almost don't want to finish it and save some for later. It's so good, I don't know how to describe it."

"Like good sex?"

Julius nearly choked on the piece of pumpkin he was chewing, the broth going down the completely wrong pipe. He sputtered, coughing and hacking, beating his chest before staring at her, wide-eyed. What the hell did she know about-? Did she know about _that_?

"W-what?!"

Hoshiko just snickered, "That's how my brother's described it, the whores. Everything can be compared to sex with them."

"Y-yea, well-"

"I don't know how you could compare food to sex though" she pondered, "I've never had sex though so I guess I wouldn't…"

She suddenly flushed, "And don't you dare tell anyone I told you I was a virgin either!" 

"…No problem."

Having somehow lost his appetite, he closed the container and smiled awkwardly, "Uh…it's cold out so let's go back inside."

"Okay" she agreed.

…Okay…so that…was a dream, thankfully…and _obviously._

…But…no one had…had her before? …Of course not. She didn't want a relationship, something that could potentially limit and "dictate" her life. Did that bother him? Or did it excite him that she'd never been resolved to anyone else? Why, if he dared act on his _minor_ interest, would she allow him to be different from the others that had possibly pursued her?

" _She's untouchable"_ the words from the dream echoed in his head.

But damned if that didn't make him a lot more interested.

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Slave Princess Leia: another Star Wars mention…I must want to subconsciously want to watch it x.X

And lol, I guess it's mean of 'Jyun and Kyo' to call Star War's fans nerds but they're mean anyway XD


	7. Arranged

**Chapter 7:** Arranged

 **2018 Notes** : There's this sequence at the end where I can't save the POV to save my life…I'll try to think of how to shift it later. **Also, very much beware, sensitive context.**

 **Author's Note:** Hmm, I'm going to have to try and crank out at least two chapters before I head to California, Seattle, and Canada… it's going to be fun n.n Yea, pumpkin's odd…I like pumpkin bread. Or at least I did in kindergarten o.O Only nearly 20 years ago, but hey (just nearly, I'm not that old yet XP). And yes, Julius is going to be a bit strange…I've still not had the pleasure of playing the game yet but I can tell he's so OOC in this fic without doing so, ha.

I was reading one of the comics for Animal Parade (found on Ranchstory) and was kind of alarmed…I was like, 'what the hell is that growing out of Julius' back?'…and low and behold, that's his HAIR. I was STUNNED to _finally_ realize that he has really long hair! I honestly thought it was like to his shoulders! His hair's like as long as Roomi's x.X I don't know how to feel about that…

I have finally drawn Jilliana and Azuma (Alex)'s wedding…it's really strange. Like a cross between too realistic and not realistic enough o.O It's strange and I may redraw but I really want to draw Carrie so…yea.

There's innuendo at the beginning and some attempted stuff…just beware. Enjoy!

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"Julius…"

Julius looked up, his colored pencils in hand, and found Hoshiko looking glum, staring at her sketchpad with her chin rested on it, scribbling absently.

"Hmm?" he questioned.

"Have you ever been to a marriage meeting?"

Julius paused and glanced at the woman, having gotten the extensions removed but ever since her hair itself had grown longer too. So…cute.

…Wait, marriage meeting? "Well…" he said slowly, "Why…?"

"My mother's trying to force me into one" she rolled her eyes around, "I mean…maybe it wouldn't be so bad?"

Julius dropped his pencil, irritated, "It'd be awful! How could you be okay with letting your mother choose a potential husband?!"

She shrugged languidly, "I'm just thinking it might just be convenient. I mean, I'd be less inclined to do wife stuff because we'd barely know each other but perhaps we'd come to some kind of agreement."

Julius' brow rose at this before smiling evilly, knowing _exactly_ how to squash this idea. "You ever read Futari Ecchi?"

She cocked an eye, "Um, with that title, definitely not."

"You should. That's exactly how your life could be."

Her brows furrowed and he winked, starting to color again. Hoshiko sulked and turned to her phone.

Maybe an hour and a half later, she squealed, "Oh my God!"

Julius gazed slightly up and chuckled as she'd found the manga online. Her cheeks were flustered and she glared at him, mortified.

"I-I-I wouldn't—I—NO!"

He grinned lazily and continued drawing, "Arranged marriages are stupid."

"Julius, darling, I have more candidates!"

Hoshiko's eyes widened and Julius' tweaked, "And oh, I should know…"

Roshinko Mira danced in, holding a stack of pictures and dropping them on his desk after waving at Hoshiko. He stared at the stack before looking back up at his aunt with a forced smile. "Aunt Mira…I'm…sorry, but I'm not even slightly interested."

"Psh posh, there are some beautiful girls in there!" she gushed.

He sighed, leaning back, "I didn't want to tell you this yet, auntie…but I knocked up Hoshiko."

His aunt looked alarmed and Hoshiko snickered, "Way to go, Julius."

"Well, it's true" he assured, nodding.

"It is not, Roshinko-san" Hoshiko smiled quickly as the woman stared between them suspiciously.

"Oh, of course" she smiled brightly, "It's just so strange. You two are on first name basis and everything."

Julius cocked a brow before realizing. Huh, they were. "It's nothing, Aunt Mira, just…coworker camaraderie?"

Hoshiko smirked at that and he smiled faintly. Mira didn't seem convinced whatsoever but she slammed down in the chair that was in front of him. "…Well, whatever the case, I want you to meet at least one of them!"

"Aunt Mira! _I_ don't wantto" he snarled.

She pleaded, "Just one? You may like her."

He glowered at her but she definitely wasn't backing down. Irritated, he snatched the pile up and muttered, " _Fine_ , but I'm just meeting. I absolutely guarantee nothing will come of it."

"Okay" the woman said, contented that he at least agreed.

He rolled his eyes as she skipped out and stared at the pictures. All…so pretty.

"She's got really nice hair."

He nearly jumped out of his chair, Hoshiko having magically appeared behind him, eating pocky, "I mean, the color's really pretty."

He glanced up at her, sulky, "It's your hair color."

She scowled, "Nah uh. It's golden ambery brown!" 

"Like _yout_ hair" he snorted, "How can you not know what color your own hair is?"

"Because not all of us can have the distinct color of 'purple'."

He leered at her and she smiled coyly. Shaking his head, Julius continued through the pile and sighed. They were gorgeous. They just didn't interest him in the least.

Suddenly, Hoshiko pushed her face over his shoulder, apparently trying to get closer look at the pictures…but just caused him to have a complete freeze.

Besides the feet touching thing, this might have been the closest he'd ever been to her. She smelled like…wildflowers.

He yelped, stunned and mortified when his nose suddenly bled. The hell! Was that supposed to be even possible?! Hoshiko glanced at him, wide-eyed, "Woah, are you okay?"

She reached into her pocket and grabbed a handkerchief for him, her brows rising, "You must really like her."

"Yea, something like that…" he mumbled from under the cloth, his cheeks pink.

"I think it's a sign" she snickered.

That her getting within a matter of inches from him was a bad idea? "I guess…"

Whatever, whoever this was would do. He had no intention of actually getting along with her so what did it matter if he'd had a nose bleed over 'her'? Hoshiko slammed down at her desk and sighed. "So…maybe I should do one too?"

"You read that part where Makoto asked if he could rub against Yura while she slept since they weren't going to have sex?" he countered.

"Ugh, men are such pigs" she groaned, dropping her head back over the chair, "Y'know Hoji demanded I go to lunch with him? _Demanded_. He's getting way too aggressive."

Julius scowled at this, "What'd you say?"

"Mm, luckily Jyun called and offered to take me to lunch…" she murmured before laughing lightly, "Sheesh, 'luckily'. At one point I would have thought doing lunch with my brothers was hell on Earth."

"Hmm…but did that _really_ dissuade Hoji?" Julius questioned.

"Hell, he wanted to come. I should have let him. Jyun and Kyo would have murdered him."

"It would have been a crime of mercy" Julius smirked.

She chuckled, "Seriously. Know what's awful though? I have to do that stupid 'night watch' with him…"

Julius froze in his shading and looked up at her as she drew something. Did she just say…?

The night watch was the next _brilliant_ idea from his Uncle Eo, after the 'coworker camaraderie'. Basically like two or three employees remained in the building late, doing random odd jobs since Eo was disgruntled that everyone seemed to leave early. Well duh, they designed the jewelry, sometimes made it when they had an idea for a prototype, submitted the prototype. What was there left to do after all that?

He'd been on night watch before and it was quite possibly the most awkward thing ever. He didn't know the woman he was with at all so after he'd done all the copies, they just sat there and stared at each other until 9 o'clock, the designated amount of time they were supposed to work to.

…And Hoshiko…was going to be with Hoji?

"Who else?" he demanded quickly.

"Mm, it's just us" she groaned.

Alarmed more than he'd like to admit, he glowered, "S-switch shifts with someone! All he'll do is harass you!"

She sighed, "I can handle Hoji, Julius, it's no big deal."

"You said yourself he's gotten aggressive" he growled, "What if he's gotten _major_ aggressive?" 

Hoshiko paused and looked up at him, "…I…don't know what you mean?"

"I mean, y'know, pressuring you into something…like… _y'know_."

She scowled, "He's not _that_ bad!"

"You're right; he's worse than bad. I know those obsessive types, Hoshiko, they'll swoon over you until their sanity breaks and next thing you know he's forced himself on you."

Hoshiko just sighed, "I…suppose you have a point. But honestly, I can't switch. The next shift is on my cousin's wedding."

Julius scowled before shrugging, "Then I'll stay with you."

"Eh? You don't have to do that" she frowned.

"No, but you know I hate Hoji. I'd cock-block him all day if I could."

"Did you _really_ just say cock-block?"

He smirked at her and she sighed, "Men."

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"I need no sympathy because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me-e-e-e!"

Julius lips tweaked as he cocked a brow at Hoshiko, whom he was half-dragging, half-carrying home. She was completely drunk and belting out a song loudly and really off-tune…

"Mama-a-a, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead-d-d-d! Mama-a-a, life had just begun-n-n, but now I've gone and thrown it all away-y-y!" she crooned, hanging off his arm wildly.

He snickered, "Hoshiko, I need to take you home. Don't make me carry you."

It was an after work get together with coworkers in the typical meeting spot of a karaoke bar. Hoshiko had insisted that she was much too shy to sing in front of her comrades. Hoji pressured her intensely and Julius pretty much had to tell him to stop being so damn pushy. They glared at each other for a while after that and Hoshiko sighed, saying maybe if she took a shot, she could sing backup.

About _three_ shots later, she was on stage singing, of all things, The Pussycat Dolls, and in doing so renewed every mans' love interest with her. Hoshiko almost revived old enemies amongst the females until she demanded they sing with her which seemed to make them happy with her again for whatever reason. He just smacked his hand over his eyes and Hoji drooled.

She had a draft of beer afterward, slurring and singing wildly. She was the life of the party. He, having not been a huge fan of drinking around people, just stared at her. She was…strange. Though, very unfortunately, this side of her fascinated him too.

He bristled when Hoji, pervert written all over his eyes, offered to take Hoshiko home towards the end of the festivities. She giggled and seemed prepared to agree, probably out of sheer incoherence, but he stepped in, stating that Hoshiko probably would forget where she lived. Julius wasn't so sure why but he put a lot of emphasis on the note that he, however, knew where she lived. This got Hoji all angry and bothered.

" _WHY do YOU know where she lives?" he'd demanded._

 _Putting her coat on her, the air outside still a bit brisk, Julius smiled, "Why does that matter?"_

" _I knew it! You are doing her, aren't you!?" he growled drunkenly._

" _Yea, I'm doing her all right" he snorted._

…Well, in his fantasies he was.

Since he knew he was going to be drinking, he drove his car home first. Unfortunately, that meant he had to WALK Hoshiko home and she was swinging off lamp posts, belting out show tunes and rock ballads, having gotten through 'Living on a Prayer' and now working on 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

"Mama-a-a, ooh-h-h, didn't mean to make you cry-y-y! If I'm not back again this time to-morrow-w-w, carry on-n-n, carry on-n-n!"

Julius snickered. Sheesh. She squeaked as he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Wahh!"

He laughed, "What the hell was that?"

"Pu' me down, Julius" she whined, kicking her legs, "I'm a big girl!"

"I know, sweetie" he cooed, humoring her.

"Julius…" she sighed, suddenly becoming content with this position and wrapping her legs around his torso, "Have you ever seen a man naked before?"

He cocked a brow, "I've…seen myself naked."

"That's cool…" she sighed again, "I've never seen a man naked before…"

"Good."

"Can I see you naked, Julius?" she said as if having an epiphany, "Then I can say I've seen a man naked before!"

Hot damn. "Uh…we'll have to see how you feel about that when you're sober."

"Pooh" she pouted, resting her chin on his shoulder, "Do you want to see me naked?"

Holy jeez. "All day, all night."

She giggled giddily, "You're so silly-y-y. "

He smirked at her, "I am? I wasn't the one that suggested getting naked."

"Blame it on the alcohol!" she squeed.

Julius snickered, "You're too cute."

She snuggled against him and he frowned when he felt…anxious. Well yea, the article of his interest was practically straddling him but…that wasn't quite it either.

Looking over his shoulder, he nearly froze…

Hoji…?

Quickly turning his head back around, he scowled. What the hell was that idiot doing? Why was he following?

…Was he trying to figure out where Hoshiko lived?

Fairly alarmed, he glowered, "Hoshiko, I need your phone."

The brunette sighed and reached into her pocket, retrieving the device and giving it to him without incident before falling back into a half-sort of sleep.

For a second, he searched her contacts for 'midget' or 'loud ass' but recalled 'Roomi' or something. Clicking send, he pressed it to his ear, walking past her apartment.

"OH MY GOD, Hoshiko, where is your brother?!" the voice demanded in lieu of a proper greeting, "I needed his help to pick something out!"

"Got me" snorted Julius.

"Oh my God, what have you done to my Hoshiko?" demanded Seiwa Roomi.

"Rooo-mi!" sang Hoshiko, taking the phone from him suddenly, "Guess what! Julius wants to see me nake-"

"Woah, woah!" he exclaimed, shocked she'd declared that, taking the phone back quickly.

"Oh no you haven't, bitch" Roomi snapped.

"She's _drunk_ " grunted Julius.

"OH MY GOD."

"Look, shut up" he groaned, knowing that it did sound pretty bad, regardless, "I need to bring her to somewhere besides her house…can…can I bring her to your house?"

"…Why?"

"Because she's getting stalked by someone from our office. I don't think it's safe for her to go home."

He scowled when the line went silent…sheesh, completely useless.

"My house is four blocks from Kikanki, which is about three blocks from Roshinko Day" she suddenly said, surprising him.

He frowned and nodded, looping around and heading in that direction. Coming past the magazine Kikanki the designated blocks, he came to some brightly colored townhouses…

"Can I guess your house is purple?" he questioned sarcastically.

"Yea" she said dryly, "It's 1401."

Julius blanked as he came to the house, surprisingly yellow. "Still complimentary colors."

"Heh."

Roomi opened the door, dressed only in a robe, scowling, "Do you mind explaining what's going on?"

Julius glared over his shoulder, noting that Hoji still was behind him remotely… "This guy, Hoji, is completely infatuated with her and he wanted to take her 'home' tonight but I knew better…and now he's over there stalking us."

Roomi frowned thoughtfully and waved him in, closing the door, "I'll call the cops, tell them I think someone was lurking behind my friend."

He nodded and started to set Hoshiko down on the couch Roomi showed him… when randomly Hoshiko squealed and pulled him down on top of her.

A lot of 'mayday, mayday!'s were going off in his brain as he gasped, "Hoshi-ko!"

Roomi cocked a brow as he freaked out, trying to escape her tight embrace, and she squeaked, "I wuvvles your hair, Juli-i-i!"

"Okay, thanks" he grunted, trying to grasp her arms, "I, uh, need to leave. You just stay here tonight."

"Nooooo!" she whined, "Let's have a sleepover!"

Oh jeez… "That's a very, very, _very_ bad idea, Hoshiko" he grumbled.

"Of course it isn't! We can sleep together!"

Mother of God. "Yea, we'll, uh, discuss that once all the whiskey's out of your system" he muttered.

He groaned as she sighed happily, hugging him and burying her nose into his neck, "Mm, you smell so yummy…"

Julius groaned. He was a little drunk himself, having had to drink a little more than usual to handle her intoxicated state. Just he was capable of forcing sobriety…course, if she kept this up, he'd be very inclined to make out with her…

Roomi suddenly smirked, pushing them apart, "Down, girl."

Julius grimaced and rapidly shook his head, standing, "Thanks. I need to go."

"Julius…" whined Hoshiko again, looking at him cutely, "We can have so much fun!"

He dragged his hand down his face, groaning, "Yea, you have no idea…"

He paused when Roomi cocked a brow at him before flustering, "Uh, yea, I'm…leaving. Take care of her and don't let her wander away."

"Sure you don't want to stay? She may have a point…" Roomi asked mock-sweetly, "There could, potentially, be lesbian sex."

It was a freakin' manga device, it was _not_ supposed to be possible! But yet again, his nose exploded at that mental image. Roomi cocked a brow but snickered.

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool…"

"Shaddup" he muttered, flushed as he grabbed a hankie from his pocket.

"I didn't expect a guy that wears zebra print to get bothered by that kind of thing…" she mused, walking him towards the door.

He glared at her from outside, "Yea, you think you're funny…"

"Might not be as funny as you think, weirdo" she sighed before winking, shutting the door as she said, "I am bisexual, after all."

His red eyes widened as he stood there, completely frozen.

…What?

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"Why do you love me? Why do you love me? Why do you love? You're driving me crazy!" sang Hoshiko, swinging around as she drank what Roomi called the anti-hangover mix.

Yagami Jyun stood in the entry of Roomi's house, staring blankly as his baby sister rocked out, leaping around madly. Roomi smirked, glancing over her shoulder at Hoshiko's routine. "She's a little intoxicated."

"No, really?"

Roomi scowled and tugged him down, smelling his hair, "You smell like cheap perfume. Where have you been?"

"Club" he shrugged.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and wandered over to Hoshiko, tilting his head as she made weird squealy sounds… "Seems like you got Kyo's tolerance, baby girl."

Hoshiko gasped, hugging him, "Onii-san!"

He stared at her, wide-eyed, as she snuggled into his chest, "Guess what!"

"Uh, Hoshiko" laughed Roomi quickly, remembering what the last 'guess what' was about and knowing Jyun would be far from pleased about it, "Why don't you finish your drink, sweetie?"

Hoshiko finished the concoction and set it down, "Jyun, I want to drink with you and Kyo-chan too!"

He snorted and dragged her to sit on the couch, "Yea, okay."

"You're humoring me" she pouted.

Jyun chuckled and pulled her into his lap, cradling her like a child, "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay…" she sighed airily.

He patted her back absently as she dozed, kissing her forehead and muttering suddenly, "What are you doing drinking anyway?

"Apparently she went out on one of those coworker deals" Roomi informed, sitting beside him, "You know, where drinking is a requirement?"

He snorted, "Whatever. I don't like it. How'd she get here?"

"That weirdo she was with at the party called me, said that he thought she was getting stalked…and there was a guy outside. I called the cops."

Jyun's attention snapped tight and he leered, "Someone's stalking my baby sister?!"

"I don't know!" Roomi scowled, "He just said that the guy was following them when he was going to drop her off and that's all I know."

"Son of a bitch."

"It's okay, it's under control" she waved a hand.

His dark eyes glared deeply before she kissed his forehead, "It's okay, baby. Just be happy that freak was nice enough to look out for her."

"…Yea" he said reluctantly.

Roomi leaned over and kissed his lips warmly, "Let me go get a bed ready for her."

"No, I'll take her home with me."

She grabbed his shirt, sighing and dragging him with her towards the bedrooms, "So silly. Who said you were going home either?"

Jyun snickered, still holding Hoshiko, "I hate to break it to you…but I've had sex with like three people in the last hour."

A weird look crossed her face before she sighed absently, "So? That's why you save the best for last."

He chuckled huskily and Roomi had him lay Hoshiko in the guest bedroom. Tucking her in, he stroked back her hair and kissed her forehead.

"Sweet dreams" he murmured.

…Stalker? Hoshiko had a stalker…?

…That made him feel…really uneasy and sick.

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"HOLY JEEZ."

Julius smirked at Hoshiko who was bright red, "NO, I DIDN'T!"

"Yea, that's right: you sang 'Buttons'."

She sobbed, covering her face, "I'm never drinking again!"

Grinning lazily, resting his chin in his hands, he commented absently, "And guess what?"

She glared through her hands, mumbling, "What…?"

"You asked to see me naked."

"GOD!" she cried, "I thought I remembered that, I just hoped it was a nightmare!"

Julius laughed before clearing his throat, the whole bisexual dealy weighing heavily on his mind Sunday…and not for more obvious pervert reasons. "Uh…what'd you do after I left, if you remember?"

"Roomi gave me something to prevent a hangover and my brother came over…" she responded before she looked disgusted, "I wish I was still drunk then. I'm pretty sure they were screwing around."

"Uh…around you?"

"No, they were kind enough to leave me in another room" she rolled her eyes…before scowling, "Why'd you take me to Roomi's house anyway? You know where I live."

"I don't want to alarm you…" he sighed, "But Hoji was following us."

Her brown eyes widened as she opened her mouth, "…What?"

"He was following us as I was walking you home" Julius sulked, "So I took you to her and she called the cops…but he was gone by the time I left."

Hoshiko stared, wide-eyed. Hefrowned as she looked up at him with a look he'd never seen…

…Horror.

"Hey, hey" he said, startled and standing to walk over to her, "He was probably just drunk, okay? I mean, he's _obsessive_ but I don't think he'd be _that_ obsessive unless he had something in his system, okay? And-and I'm probably just worrying too much about the night watch thing too."

"Huh…? Uh, yea!" she said, laughing quickly, "I'm-I'm not worried, ha…"

Julius grimaced as he fought the desire to hug her…or something. Being intoxicated was kind of fun, at least he could have gotten away with it.

"Hoshi..."

Julius looked up, surprised, as her brother wandered in, looking absolutely miserable. She frowned and stood. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"

He just sighed deeply. Hoshiko scowled, glancing back at Julius, "I'm going to go grab lunch, Julius. You want anything?"

"If you go downstairs, I want a panini, any kind. If you go to that place, that soup would hit the spot right now…" he pondered, starting to hand her some money.

"No, I got it" she said, waving a hand quickly.

He opened his mouth but she'd already walked out. Ge pursed his lips…weird.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm sure she'll get over it, Jyun…"

His head was rested on the table, his hands dropped straight down, droning, "Fail, Hoshiko, absolute fail…"

Hoshiko frowned thoughtfully, "No, really. It's not like you have a choice, it is your job, after all."

"Maybe…"

He lifted his head, his chin still rested on the surface, and gazed at her, "Anyway, you, young lady, need to leave the Jack Daniels alone."

She flushed and stuck out her tongue, "I didn't drink your _imported_ expensive stuff."

Jyun snorted, "Regardless."

She sighed and ordered some pumpkin soup and a salad for herself to go. Jyun frowned at this and sipped his coffee, "So, what's going on with you and that…guy?"

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

"Well, you're buying him lunch…" he cocked a brow, "And that soup you always get when we go for lunch is for him."

Hoshiko shrugged awkwardly, "Well, usually he pays but I thought I owed him for looking out for me last night."

Jyun nodded slowly before his eyes narrowed, "Why didn't you tell me you had someone bothering you?"

"I didn't think he was that bad…" she murmured before laughing anxiously, "And I still don't think he is, actually. He was just drunk."

Jyun looked highly unconvinced and she waved a hand, smiling brightly, "Uh, anyway…have fun in Spain."

Jyun just looked miserable again before glaring, "I'm not stupid enough to not know you're changing the subject. You be careful, Hoshiko."

Hiding a roll of her eyes, she nodded absently and thought, well, Julius was right. Hell, she'd asked him if she could see him _naked._ Obviously a lot of inhibitions and reason went out the window when one was drunk…Hoji was no different.

Or that's what she told herself.

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"Oh, sheesh…"

Roshinko Eo looked up at his wife who seemed annoyed, "Where is that boy?"

Eo sighed, shrugging, "It's lunch time. If he's not in his office or lunch room, ask around."

Mira sulked and wandered back out, asking a few employees…no one knew. Growing frustrated, she crossed that one guy…Hoji? He glanced at her idly as she questioned. His gaze darkened and he muttered.

"Yea, I know where he is…"

Thankful, Mira followed him…and was ultimately taken by surprise.

Julius was sitting on a bench, turned inward, laughing apparently, and eating. That wasn't, well, startling…but beside him, facing him, was Hoshiko, eating a salad as she talked. Hoji glared.

"I think something's going on between them."

This also caught Mira by surprise before she cleared her throat, "Really? He has a marriage meeting soon and he didn't tell me…"

Hoji's gaze suddenly brightened, "Oh? If that's the case, then…think you can get him off my back? I haven't really had any time to talk to Hoshiko because he's really protective. He's even staying Friday on the night watch I was supposed to have with her."

Mira scowled, "He certainly will not."

Walking over to them, Julius looked up and blinked, "Aunt Mira?"

The woman sulked, crossing her arms, "Julius, you're aware that Friday, we're having dinner with the candidate, right?"

Julius brow rose before he realized…he shook his head, "Reschedule it. I have plans."

"Absolutely not! It'd be absolutely humiliating for me!" she woman bristled.

The peculiar man glared, "Aunt Mira, I'm sorry but I thought you said it was _Saturday_. I'm available on Saturday and your meeting will have to be rescheduled."

The woman's eyes narrowed and Hoshiko looked nervous, "Uh, Julius, you should go. I mean, I swear, I'll be fine."

"Stay out of this" he growled.

"No!" she protested, "I-I don't want anyone to be angry with you because of me, so…you should go."

Julius gave her a look and Mira smiled brightly, "I'm glad you're so responsible! The meeting's at 8:30 sharp. Be there early, you."

"Aunt Mira!"

Prancing off, she nodded at Hoji who looked relieved. "Thanks, Roshinko-san. That helps a lot."

Certainly. Those two?

…That wouldn't do.

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Julius turned to glare at Hoshiko as his aunt pranced away, irritated, "Why? Why would you do that?!"

"B-because!" she blurted before saying quietly, "…Didn't you see the way she was looking at me?"

He opened his mouth but paused. It was odd but now that she mentioned it, his aunt did give Hoshiko strange looks from time to time. He hadn't really thought anything of it, Hoshiko was strange…then. And maybe she just thought it was strange now because Hoshiko was more effeminate. Alas, it'd been going on for months now, he'd think his aunt would be used to it. Shaking his head, he scowled.

"Why?"

"…I heard rumors at Vanille that she doesn't really care much for my family" she laughed slowly, pushing a piece of lettuce around her bowl.

…What? "Does she _know_ your family…?"

"I think everyone's heard of at least _one_ of my relatives" she sighed.

He snorted loudly, " _I_ haven't."

"Take your pick. My grandpa is one of the top ten surgeons worldwide, Yagami Yamada. My Uncle Koji, my dad's twin brother, is a senior executive of USI, he's always in the news. Same goes for my uncle, Izumi Cliff, just in another division. My cousin, Yagami Keiji, is a lawyer. He's defended some pretty popular cases. Of course, Steiner owns Tenshiya" she paused and shrugged, glancing at him, "And yea, that's all…business type stuff so I guess only those paying attention to it would know. But one you should recognize is Yagada. That's my grandma, Yagami Dana's, creation."

He stared at her blankly for a moment. He recognized every last one of those names. He remembered a 'Yagami Yamada' for personally rushing out of the hospital to a horrid plane crash and helping, despite his specialty being like, a neurosurgeon or something crazy. They'd tried to interview him but he didn't look like he could care either way about notoriety or thought he was doing anything out of the ordinary.

Yagami Koji and Izumi Cliff had been vocal in relief efforts for areas of Japan that had been hit and destroyed by recent tsunami. They teamed up with the prime minister of Japan in some cases and raised unbelievable funds for donation. Again, they both kind of had that 'why the hell are you bugging us for an interview? We just raised well over a million for some people in need, what's so big?' attitudes.

Yagami Keiji, he recently prosecuted this huge sex abuse case in an adoption home. He angrily went at it with all his might, using all media to decry against the owners and insist that the victimized children be moved somewhere else. Quite fortunately it led to most of the kids being adopted. And holy crap, Yagada?

"…That is insane" he finally remarked.

She chuckled and shrugged, "Just a lot to live up to, I guess. And…well, we're not exactly hurting money wise so maybe that's why she hates me."

"I would assume not" he stated dryly before shaking his head, "That's so weird…but I'm not convinced that's a good reason to hate someone either."

She frowned, "Can she really hate me though? Putting me in an office right off the bat?"

"With me?" he smirked.

Hoshiko laughed, "Good point."

Julius played with a lock of his hair as he watched her, "To be honest, Hoshiko, you're a very put offish kind of person. I guess maybe Aunt Mira just kind of got that side of you?"

She grimaced and laughed slowly, "I…I hope not."

It went against his better judgment, but he grabbed her wrist, glaring, "If he does _anything_ untoward to you, call me immediately."

Hoshiko blinked, "Are you still on this, Julius? I think you're worrying too much."

His shoulders slumped and he released her, frustrated. She was just completely naïve to the nature of men, wasn't she? She could say she knew how they acted through her brothers. But those were her brothers.

Hoji had…darker motives.

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"…Yep, all you need is some mod shades and you'd be a certified hippy."

Shimizu Julius smirked widely at Hoshiko as he reentered their office, having gotten dressed for this damned meeting.

"Why Hoshiko, I'm trying to make an impression here" he sighed airily.

"That you love peace and crack?"

He was wearing a bright red tunic with blue and green embroideries and a pair of hempy colored pants. Hoshiko stared at him for a few moments longer before her brow rose.

"You know what? I can't let you go anywhere like that which is sad since I don't really care that much about fashion."

He crossed his arms, "Why not? I told you I have literally no intention of marrying or even thinking about this girl."

"Well still, that doesn't mean you have dress like you're going to Woodstock!" she snorted, "I liked what you had on before. It was still your crazy style but it actually worked."

Julius pursed his lips before sighing, starting to take off his shirt. She squealed, "JULIUS!"

"What?" he snickered, "You did say you wanted to see me naked."

She covered her face and groaned, turning completely away from him, "MEN!"

Laughing, he pulled his other clothes back on at ease, a black and white silky shirt with thin pink stripes, a pair of simple black slacks, and his black coat with the furry fluffy collar.

"Okay, I'm dressed" he sighed.

"I don't think I'll look until you leave" she grumbled.

He smirked and walked over to her, standing between her and the space in front of her. She glowered at him but seemed placated. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, sighing, feeling irritated that he was leaving her here with that… _guy._

"You're sure you have my number?" he questioned seriously, "Your brother is out of town and you said your other brother probably won't be back until midnight-"

"I have your number, Julius" she sighed, " _And_ the bottle of mace you insist I carry."

"Pockets?"

She rolled her eyes and showed him the pocketed tights she was wearing, the cell phone in one, the mace in the other. Vaguely satisfied, he nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets. It was 7:30. Groaning, he slouched towards the door.

"I guess I'll be going then…"

"Good luck. You might actually like her."

He sent her a look over his shoulder before suddenly feeling sad. Like this stranger? Hardly, hell would freeze over first. He hardly could stand the feelings he had for Hoshiko. And 'marriage'? How ludicrous.

…He could never trust a woman.

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" _It's so fun to be right…"_

Hoshiko felt haughty as she walked around, making copies of the daily logging reports, Hoji doing some basic accounting. He'd barely said one word to her except 'pass me the highlighter'. Everything was going perfectly. Jyun and Julius were just overreacting.

Slamming down across from Hoji at the round table, she started doing her own calculations, the hours passing at ease. When she finished, she thought about what she was wearing to the wedding. She was going to recycle the dress from the party, as no one had seen it yet and she'd been particularly fond of that find. Hair, eh, she'd try to do something herself. It was frustrating, doing hairstyles, but she could do it. She really wished she'd had the jewelry still to match it though. Remembering telling Julius, the man had remarked.

" _Stupid-d-d, haven't you heard it's a taboo for a woman to wear the same thing twice?"_

 _She stuck out her tongue, "Funny, I'm pretty sure you've worn that coat a bazillion times."_

" _Exactly" he retorted, "Because I am a hundred percent man."_

" _I'd say at most 65."_

 _She giggled as he leered at her, finding it all too amusing, "I'm kidding, Julius, only the manliest of men can pull off a powder blue velvet coat. You're like Elvis."_

" _Why Hoshiko, I could almost take that as a half-assed compliment" he mock-gasped._

" _And what do you have against Elvis?" she snorted._

" _That he could find blue suede shoes and I can't" he lamented._

Hoshiko bit her lip, fighting off a giggle. He was ridiculous. She almost kind of wished he was there. Sure, she appreciated that Hoji wasn't hitting on her but she was getting kind of bored.

"Thinking about your f—k buddy?"

She looked up, her heart skipping a few beats too many, and gaped slowly, "…What?"

"Everybody in the office knows you're screwing around with Julius" Hoji snorted coolly.

Hoshiko stiffened, the sheer insanity of that irritating her. "I am _not_ doing ANYTHING with Julius!"

"Please" he grunted, "If you're not, the 'hard to get' act is getting old."

"It's not an act" she remarked dryly, standing angrily, "I'm sorry I'm just not interested in you. Or doing _anything_ with you, for that matter."

"Then maybe you don't _have_ to be interested."

It felt like the temperature in the room dropped, the words hitting her like an arctic blizzard. Wide-eyed, she slowly turned to him and gave him a dark glare.

"Enough, Hoji. I'm sick of all this. Just-just get a grip."

"No, no" he said in an airy, creepy tone as he walked towards her, "I think I'm on to something here."

Hoshiko fled backwards, her heart racing, as he remarked, "I mean, it'd feel the same to me whether you wanted it or not."

Blanching, she hissed, "You wouldn't."

"Oh, honey…" he cooed faintly before smiling deviously, "I would."

She gasped as he darted at her, quickly darting in the opposite direction. Her heart in her throat, she stifled a sob as she threw down one of the chairs in the room to thwart his direction.

Hoji growled, throwing it out of the way with the intensity of a raged animal, coming at her with the same ferocity of a ravenous beast. No! Jyun and Julius weren't supposed to be right!

She ran frantically, tripping, her mind muddled with extreme horror, towards the elevator, pressing the button madly. This could not be happening, this could not be happening!

"You baka!" her mind yelled, "You don't get on an elevator when he's got you cornered, there'd be no escape!"

She cried, dodging when she noticed Hoji lunged at her. Luckily, he lunged right into the opening elevator. Hoshiko rushed back away, down the steps this time. She had escape on the steps, at least. She had two options: take to the street or find the security office, she quickly thought. Which one was clos—

The sound that parted from her lips sounded absolutely foreign, the feeling of the deepest terror stealing her desire to breathe as Hoji tackled her around her knees.

She shrieked, begging for help, crying for her whole entire family in the longest second of her life, kicking and punching to get away.

"That's it, _struggle_ " Hoji purred lustfully, "It only makes it more exciting."

Sobbing, she choked when he grabbed the shoulder of her shirt. Her mind clouded with horror. It'd hurt. She'd never done it before. He wouldn't be gentle, he'd probably kill her if it would help him. He crawled on top of her, the reality of the situation striking her as he pushed his arousal against her, grabbing the edges of her tights to remove them. Screaming, she clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see if it meant getting through this…

…It was a bewildering…but in that forced darkness…she saw something. She…heard something. It was yelling at her…it sounded a lot like Julius.

…Julius.

Gulping, inhaling so sharply she whistled, Hoji's face directly in hers as he excitedly tried to hike her pants down. Her lips trembling, eyes blazed with horror, she shot him directly in the face with the pepper spray.

He fell back, howling, clenching his eyes and she yelped, clambering to her feet and racing away. She wept in her head for her brothers. They'd have made it so Hoji would never see the light of day again. More than anything, she wanted her daddy. He'd kill Hoji on the spot.

…She wanted Julius.

Rushing into another employee's office, she slammed the door and pushed a chair against it, tripping into their coat closet and closing the door. Biting down on her lip to still their shaking, she took out her cell phone. Her hands shook so violently, she had to stop and take a deep harrowing breath. It was okay, it was okay, she told herself.

Tears streamed down her face as she swallowed air in gulps. No…no, it wasn't okay…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Julius stared absently at his nails, the girl actually texting while Mira and her mother talked vividly. They'd said all of nothing to each other. Their hosts, oh, they were getting along swell. Too bad Julius didn't give a rat's ass.

Mira noticed eventually, giving him a look, "Julius, talk to Amika! You two should get to know each other!"

Amika's mother chastised her daughter the same way and they both just rolled their eyes, completely uninterested. He'd rather be getting a root canal about then.

It was ten. Hoshiko would have just started to get ready to leave. He glanced at his phone for nearly the hundredth time and sighed. So she was right: Hoji was just all steam.

…Or, he'd…

Rapidly shaking his head, he rubbed his temple. Stop being ridiculous, Julius, he scolded himself. Hoshiko was perfectly fine and you're just here worrying over absolutely nothing. Amika yawned, glancing at rings she'd apparently gotten from other suitors in contempt. He sulked. Of course, he had nothing better to do anyway.

His phone suddenly rang, surprising him, and Mira turned from her conversation to give him a glare, "Julius! You should turn that off during dinner, it's rude!"

Oh, because Amika hadn't just texted through dinner? He hid his eye roll and glanced at the ID…Hoshiko? Frowning, he shrugged. So she probably just wanted to gloat that she'd been right. Not anything he particularly wanted to hear right now either.

He glanced at the phone idly when it stopped ringing, displaying a 'missed phone call' message before glancing back up as Mira, Eo, and Amika's parents chatted. Then the phone rang again. He cocked a brow and stared down. Again, Hoshiko. What was her problem? Such a glory hound.

Two missed calls. His lip twitched as it rang a third time. Damn it, _fine_ , he thought irritated, standing, "Excuse me, I _apparently_ need to take this."

Mira sent him a death glare he promptly ignored as he slipped out into the lobby, clicking 'send', "Haha, okay, I was worried over nothing, big deal."

He frowned when the line was quiet. It was disturbing, he knew she was there merely from the silence. Shifting his gaze, confused, he frowned. "…Hoshiko? Are you there?"

"Y-you promised" she whispered, "You promised you'd be there if something went wrong."

His heart started to pulsate and he gaped, "What? What went wrong?"

Why did her voice sound like that? Why'd she sound so scared? What had that bastard done to her? Question after question stacked as Hoshiko just remained silently before crying. "You _promised_. I need you!"

"Hoshiko! What the hell's going on?! What's he done to you?!"

She just wept uncontrollably and he could have killed something. _Damn it_! He calmed himself enough to be soothing…or hopefully, "Hoshiko, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I-I thought everything had went okay and you'd called to—never mind. I'm-I'm coming now, okay? Are you safe?"

"No" she sobbed before screaming.

It felt like ice water was running through his blood, "Hoshiko!?"

He heard loud knocking and thought he was going to be sick, "Hoshiko, just-just stay put, I'm coming. I'm not that far away, I'll be right there."

"D-don't go" she whimpered loudly.

"I'm right here" he assured, darting out to the lobby.

His aunt burst around the corner, infuriated, "Julius! Where on Earth are you going?!"

"I'll-I'll be right back, okay? I-it's an emergency" he insisted.

Mira looked irate, "Shimizu Julius, I will not be embarrassed like this!"

The knocking on the phone just got louder and louder, Hoshiko's cries growing more and more disturbing. Before all the noise just disappeared. His eyes widened and he stared at the phone.

…She was gone.

Staring, he gaped for a moment before shaking his head, "Aunt Mira, I love you…you know I…owe you so much and I-I promise that I'll go to as many marriage meetings as you want…"

But he darted away, rushing from the hotel restaurant before she got another word in. Just…he had to go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…Her phone died.

Last night, when she pondered plugging it in, she thought, eh, she wouldn't need it.

…She'd never, ever let that happen again.

Hugging herself, she shook as Hoji had apparently come to, enraged, knocking against the door. She was a goner, she laughed crazily. He'd either rape or beat her to death or both. So…this was the rest of her life, huh? How magical.

Why? Why had she changed? No one had ever felt the desire to even look at her before but now? Now they wanted to violate her. If she'd stayed the same, she wouldn't be sitting in this closet, waiting for some crazed lunatic to come seal her fate. Why had she been so _stupid_?

Cold bitter tears drained down her face as the door gave way, the chair crackling. She could hear everything, his rapid breathing, his seething voice. He was in for the kill.

"You little bitch. I was going to be _gentle_ before but now…"

Hugging herself tighter, she wanted her daddy. He was always good at that, wasn't he? Yagami Nerimaru would cuddle with her during thunderstorms when she couldn't sleep, walk her through the dark and show her there was nothing scary, held her hand when she thought the world could end…

" _NOW_ I'm going to take it nice and slow" hissed Hoji, "And _hard._ "

She bit down on her hand, willing herself back to that place. She'd never wanted her dad to protect her but she'd loved him so much for it. She hated Jyun and Kyo for making fun of her but neither of them meant it. She always knew that but held it against them. Her mother just wanted her to be her little girl. She already had two stupid boys, why'd she need a tomboy too? Hoji would kill her…and…and she'd never see them again.

She'd never get to see her family again. That jewel in the caves. She'd never have children. She hadn't wanted children but she'd never have the chance to either way now. She'd never be married…

A vision of Julius' smirking face crossed her mind for a moment…and it comforted her.

Sobbing, alarmed, when she heard the loudest clanking and thrashing sound ever, she huddled tighter. What was he doing? Why was he tormenting her? Just get it over with! She cried out, closing her eyes tight when light blinded her from the door…

"Oh thank God…you're okay…"

She looked up, her eyes wide and burning red with tears, to find Julius standing over her. He dropped to his knees before her and grabbed her shoulders, looking her over frantically.

"Are you okay? He didn't touch you, did he?" he hissed.

She stared at him before the weight of the situation came down on her. Wailing, she pressed her face against his chest, sobbing and choking uncontrollably. He was obviously startled for a moment before hugging her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm so sorry.I shouldn't have left you…" he whispered.

"What on Earth?!"

She sniveled and Julius glared back at his uncle and aunt who must have followed him. Eo looked stunned, rapidly glancing around at the office, Hoji lying flat out on the ground, unconscious.

"Hoji tried to rape Hoshiko" snarled Julius.

"What!"

Eo ran out, apparently to call security. Mira stared, wide-eyed, as Julius helped Hoshiko up, the poor thing trembling, barely able to stand. He wrapped his arm around her hip as she pressed against him heavily, panting.

Mira felt irritated. That didn't make any sense. Why would Hoji try to rape…her? Hoshiko suddenly shoved away from Julius and rushed off. Ger nephew followed her rapidly and Mira leered, following as well.

She frowned, finding him standing outside of the womens' bathroom. It sounded like she was vomiting. Julius stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at her monotonously.

"I _asked_ for you to reschedule. I have to take it back" he said, emotionless, "I have no desire to do any of the marriage meetings anymore. I've always felt that way. And…and I understand if you want me to…pay you back for everything or whatever."

Mira stared at him as he stared straight in front of him, not meeting her gaze, though looking ultimately angry and disgusted. Pursing her lips, she finally smiled, though tightly.

"You're my sister's child, Julius and I've raised you like my own. I don't expect you to pay me back for that. I just feel…concerned over your feelings for women sometimes. I'd rather see you married and happy."

He was silent and jumped when Hoshiko pushed past the door, covered in a thin layer of sweat, wiping her damp face with her wrist, still weeping. Julius touched her shoulder gently, lifting her chin with his free fingertips. She just sniffed, shutting her eyes, gasping for air.

"Calm down…" he murmured ever so gently, "Everything's okay now, I promise."

She visibly swallowed but nodded and he frowned back at his aunt, "I'm…going to take her home, okay? I'll, uh, talk to you more about this later."

Mira nodded faintly and he held Hoshiko's waist as they headed towards the elevator, her eyes narrowing as the doors closed.

…She was especially concerned about his feelings over _this_ woman.

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Futari Ecchi is by Katsu Aki and is pretty much like Sex Ed in a manga…lol, it's kind of funny if not kind of graphic…it tells of a couple that had an arranged marriage. Yura, the female protagonist, has quite possibly the horniest husband ever written (aside from Steiner, naturally).

Hoshiko is singing Bohemian Rhapsody at the beginning by Queen, Julius mentions her singing Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer', and she sings 'Why Do You Love Me?' by Garbage when Jyun shows up. And yea…Buttons is by the Pussycat Dolls. Lol. Not particularly my style but alas seems like a funny drunken karaoke song regardless.

Kikanki is the magazine owned by Kotomi (Candace) in This Love…

I'd also like to note that Hoshiko's decision to run to the stairs was not the proper choice either as it's actually a prime location for a rapist. While I'm not exactly sure what the best option was, I wouldn't suggest after I've reviewed safety techniques.


	8. Like

**Chapter 8** : Like

 **Author's Note** : OMG, two or three weeks, peeps! I went on my trip…and for any readers out in California, Seattle, and Canada, I salute you. I can get three liters of soda for what it seems normal to pay for a couple fl oz of the beverage on my side of the world ._. Lol, ah, my experiences…

This chapter breaks a record, my great readers. It's the biggest chapter ever. 40 pages ( **2018 Notes** : HA, okay) in MS Word. I just kept writing…it was funny that day I came back from a nine hour stint at the airport crossed with a five hour flight. I told myself, sleep on the plane, you're going to finish this chapter since you'd wanted to finish it before you left and didn't. And I got back, sat at the PC my parents had managed to kill the monitor, and opened my fanfiction folder…stared at this chapter and asked, 'Who the hell is Julius and Hoshiko and why do I care?' before passing out.

Long story short…happy reading! And for your patience, you get a lemon…? U.U Of course, if you don't enjoy lemon, when stuff starts getting tense…skip to the x's and past the italics. This crosses over with Carrie's wedding, once again, from Leave Out All The Rest and Chapter 9 of 'This Love'.

And just a side while you're reading and **SPOILER for those that haven't read "This Love",** isn't it rather difficult to read Nelly's dealing with Elli's? It makes me sad to write it DX

That's enough, read the novel.

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"… _I'm so stupid."_

 _Julius stared at Hoshiko as she finally faded to sleep, tucked under his sheets tightly, her face red with a minor fever. Stroking away limp tendrils of her hair, he whispered._

" _I…knew better. I knew what my instincts told me and I…I just knew better."_

 _He stroked her furrowed brow, the tightened skin relaxing with the motion and he blushed faintly as he leaned over, kissing her forehead._

" _I'm sorry, Hoshiko…"_

Gasping loudly, Yagami Hoshiko sat straight up, alarmed. For a blinding moment, her psyche played a horrid trick, convincing her that Hoji had taken her back to some unknown place and had his way with her. Maybe he'd just let her live to force himself on her again.

Finally taking a breath, she looked around at the room painted bright purple magenta with a huge zebra print rug and, of all things, a zebra print sheet and a furry red quilt.

…Okay, never mind, she was apparently in Julius' bed.

Looking around, frowning, she paused when she found the man lying on the end of the massive bed, stretched out on his stomach. He was snoring faintly, his mouth agape. Swallowing, she crawled from under the covers toward him. Again, Julius had looked out for her. She wondered again why he didn't just take her home…but then, she'd probably would have had a nervous breakdown if she hadn't seen a face she recognized.

"Nn…"

She paused, sitting up on her haunches as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He must have been a light sleeper. Glancing at her, his red eyes sleepy before they widened, he turned completely towards her.

"Are you okay?"

She wiped her dry eyes and nodded, "I-I'm fine. You-you didn't have to let me steal your bed. I could have slept on the couch…"

He scowled, shrugging, "It's not like I was misplaced, just on the end of the bed."

She flushed and nodded as he frowned, "Hey, you going to be okay?"

"I-I hope so" she laughed sadly before curling up, "I…I'm so, so stupid."

Julius ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head, "I mean, what happened?"

Hoshiko pursed her lips, "I-I was just kind of thinking about things and-and he asked if we were…you know, together. And next thing I know, he's-he's threatening to…do things and out of nowhere, attacked me…I…I mean, he got me once but-but I remembered the pepper spray and then I hid in the closet…and you came…"

Letting out a dark sigh, he gently grasped her shoulder and pushed her back down into bed, covering her up. "It's only like 5 am. Go back to sleep."

She grimaced and tried to sit back up, "I-I can go home, Julius…"

Though honestly it was the very last thing she wanted. He scowled though, shaking his head. "Sleep. You can worry about home later."

Frowning, she finally snuggled back under the covers and he moved back to his spot… she closed her eyes and after a while opened them again.

"…Julius?"

He murmured, "Hmm?"

"…Thank you."

"Don't."

"Eh?"

"Don't…thank me" he mumbled, "It didn't have to happen to begin with. If I had just…ugh."

"You still came, like you promised…" she pointed out.

"Mm."

Sighing, she turned back over on her side and decided it was best to go to sleep, that maybe she could forget this nightmare ever even happened.

…Right.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hoshiko smiled faintly as she wandered into the villa for Carrie's wedding, really late. She'd called and told her she wasn't feeling well at all. Carrie seemed upset, that everyone was jumping out on her, she'd joked. That made her feel kind of bad too.

" _Aww, hon, if you feel sick, you don't have to come. I mean, no offense, I'd rather have you not come than throw up…"_

Hoshiko had assured her she wouldn't. Though who knows, she might. Hugging herself, she walked into the room full of relatives of both Carrie and Kurt. Kneading her hands, she took a breath, shifting the gift under her arm.

"Hoshi, I am bored with that. You should have come out with something new and bright pink."

She jumped a mile, truly shocked, turning to her brother who was standing by the door, Carrie hanging off his hip.

"…Jyun? I thought you were in Spain" she gawked.

"I was. Roomi got me here though because I was apparently being EMO."

Carrie smirked, "Doesn't surprise me."

Hoshiko smiled quickly, "Uh, I'm sorry I'm late. I really wasn't feeling well."

Jyun's brows creased as Hoshiko handed the gift to Carrie, "Oh, it's fine that you could come at all. Are you feeling better?"

Hoshiko bit her lip and nodded. Jyun crossed his arms. Carrie quickly pardoned herself to replace the gift on the table. Hoshiko sighed, wondering if she could do some quick greetings then go home and cry.

She nearly shrieked when a hand came down on her shoulder, wheeling around and nearly punching at whoever. Of course, the only person that had been behind her to begin with was Jyun. He looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? I couldn't have startled you that bad."

Hoshiko grimaced and laughed brokenly, pushing her face into his chest, "Sorry…"

"…What happened?" he questioned, his voice deep and dark.

"Nothing, I-I'm just a little shaken, is all. I've felt kind of jumpy since the stalker incident…"

Jyun frowned thoughtfully, "Mm…"

Guiding her towards the other family, she felt moved for other reasons when she saw her father, standing and chatting with her Uncle Koji. Maybe she'd thought about Jyun or Kyo or Julius when she was fighting Hoji, but more than anything she'd wanted him…

"Papa" she called anxiously.

The man stopped speaking, sipping wine, before glancing at her, surprised, "Baby girl?"

Fighting breaking out into tears and demanding her daddy go beat up the bad man, she forced a smile, walking over to him and slipping under his arm, "Hi…"

"You look beautiful" he cooed, kissing her forehead, the action comforting whether he knew it or not, "Carrie said you didn't feel well. Are you okay?"

She nodded rapidly and he rubbed her shoulder. She gave a quick look around, not wanting to seem clingy so that her dad felt weirded out or suspicious. During this misleading affect, she had found something off and, sincerely frowning, questioned:

"...Where's mom?"

"Apparently she wasn't feeling well either" Jyun pondered.

Really…? That was weird. She squeaked when arms wrapped around her from behind and scowled when Kyo, the 'attacker', gave her a look,.

"What did I say about _boobage_?"

She snorted loudly, swinging her leg to kick his shin, "What did _I_ say about boobage? I don't have any!"

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Nelly remarked, disturbed.

Hoshiko had to laugh a little, "Nothing, dad."

Kaede wandered over, wearing a spaghetti strap gown that showed off her bountiful amount of said topic. Kyo stared for a moment before replying.

"Yea, never mind."

Jyun snickered as Koji thumped Kyo's head, glowering. Kaede looked confused, "Wha?"

"Nothing, princess" Koji rumbled, pulling her under his arm next.

Kaede didn't look convinced, "It's about me, isn't it?"

"Kyo just yelled at me about showing off…bosom" coughed Hoshiko some.

Kaede smirked, "And somehow mine came into that convo, huh?"

"Yea, stop staring at your cousin like that, perp" grunted Nelly, punching Kyo's shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Country, Uncle Nelly, country" chuckled Kaede.

"Y'know, I took an Anthropology course once" Kyo pondered, stroking his chin, "And apparently it's okay to marry and reproduce with cross cousins."

Jyun cocked a brow, "Cross cousins?"

"Yea, in our situation, any of Aunt Jill's kids since that's dad's only sister. It's apparently not okay for cousins that are born from dad's brothers though" nodded Kyo knowledgeably.

Koji cocked a brow, "That's crazy but I do think I recall something like that from college…"

Jilliana joined next and Kyo tapped his cheek, "I dunno, Carrie and Jilliana are hot, but…"

"What?" Jilliana echoed, confused.

Hoshiko smiled, shaking her head. Her idiot brothers. Jyun glanced back and frowned as Cliff wandered away from the crushed looking Carrie. Pursing his lips, he shook his head, "I mean, is it _that_ horrible? Kurt and Carrie were pretty much destined to get married."

"Yea, even daddy handled it better" Kaede sighed, rubbing the side of her face.

Koji sighed, "I don't know. Like I said, it's kind of weird."

Kyo stuffed his hands in his pocket and sighed, "Lucky for you, dad, you won't have to get into a funk because your daughter's getting married."

Hoshiko rolled her eyes and Nelly cocked a brow, "Don't jinx it."

"Papa!"

Nelly hugged her waist and Jyun sighed, "You're an old maid, Hosh. You'll be 25 before you know it."

"I am not an old maid!" she bristled.

"25" Nelly whistled, "If my _baby_ is that old…"

"I'm not old!"

"Ha, my youngest are seventeen" Koji stuck out his tongue.

"I'm not old" pouted Hoshiko, crossing her arms as her father returned the gesture to his twin.

Nelly grinned and kissed her forehead, "No, you're not. You can get married if you want, baby."

"No, she can't!" growled Kyo.

Hoshiko flushed, "Daddy…"

The rest of the night was…well, so amazing. Her family was too…strange, too happy, too talkative and random. It wasn't until she was walking outside in the night that she remembered that last night, she was…sexually assaulted.

Freezing, she felt the shadows start to close in and her throat tighten as she recalled Hoji's dark voice. Shivering, she hugged herself when suddenly Nelly wrapped his arms around her.

"What's wrong, baby girl? You're jumpy" he murmured suddenly.

"H-huh? Nothing, papa" she smiled faintly.

Jyun yawned and pet her hair, slapping Kyo's shoulder, before he walked towards his car, "Well, I'm off to Spain."

Nelly's eyes cocked, "What? You just got here, get some rest."

"Nah, it was the agreement. I'll see you guys later."

Hoshiko frowned as her brother climbed into his SUV, waving as he pulled off. Her dad yawned, stretching. "Why don't you two come home with me, hmm? It'd be a shorter trip than the mainland."

Hoshiko honestly couldn't think of anything better. Kyo seemed disgruntled by the idea but ultimately agreed. The trip back didn't take long and Nelly patted his pockets for his keys, frowning.

"Isn't mom home?" Kyo said.

"Yea, but I don't want to wake her or make her get up" Nelly remarked.

Finally locating the key, he pushed it into the door and Hoshiko's brow creased as she thought she heard the back door close.

"Mom?" called Kyo.

The woman peeked out of the kitchen, looking startled, "Oh, Hoshiko! Kyo!"

Nelly's brow rose, "Were you just outside…?"

"Ah, yea, I thought I heard something in the chicken coop" she said quickly.

Nelly frowned thoughtfully and Hoshiko felt…exhausted. She sat at the table and rested her head on the surface. Next thing she knew she was being carried. She opened her eyes faintly and found her father walking up the steps with her in his arms, Elli following.

Elli went in one direction and came back, holding some clothes…Nelly wandered out and Hoshiko flushed as her mother tried to dress her.

"Mom, sheesh, you could wake me…" mumbled Hoshiko.

Elli looked surprised, "I'm sorry, sweetie, you were sleeping so heavily."

Hoshiko grimaced and smiled some, "Yea, I got it."

Elli sighed, "I gave _birth_ and used to bathe all of you. Now Jyun and Kyo have a hot fit if I see them in anything less than their pants."

Hoshiko smirked, "Well, mom, they are your sons."

She just sighed again and Hoshiko sighed, pulling on the flowy nightgown top, a light pink color, tying at the top like a peasant top and the bloomers that cinched at the bottom and reached her knees

"Aww, you look like my baby girl again."

Hoshiko pursed her lips as her dad peeked in when she opened the door, "I'm not a baby either, daddy!"

"You'll always be _my_ baby as long as we don't have any more kids."

Her eyes widened, "Oh God, don't do that."

He laughed and sighed, "Don't worry…I doubt it'll happen."

She sank down onto her old bed and sighed, pulling up the covers to slide under. Her father came over and kissed her forehead, "Mm, I do miss having you guys here…sometimes."

Hoshiko smiled sadly, "I never thought I'd admit it but I kind of miss being here too."

Nelly frowned and sat on the edge of the bed, "…Has something happened, Hoshi? You know you can tell me anything."

"…Can I tell you tomorrow?" she asked wearily.

"…Of course" he said with a measured tone of reluctance.

She bit her lip as he turned off the light and the darkness that swallowed her put her back in that closet, the happenings outside the door leaving her to play roulette with her fate. Suddenly, and surprising to herself as well, she caught her father's wrist. He paused and glanced back down at her.

"…Don't go, papa" she whispered, whining and admittedly scared out of her mind.

His eyes widened in the moonlight and he stroked her hair, sinking down beside her, "…Okay."

Relieved, she hugged his arm and he petted her hair affectionately.

…She didn't want to play the baby girl.

…She didn't want to become this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Franz Ferdinand woke her up.

She peeked up, startled and dazed, when her phone started blasting 'Take Me Out'. Frowning, disoriented, she grabbed the device quickly before noticing her father was missing. Scowling, she felt a little…betrayed. But glancing at the clock, she found it was already eight. It was the crazy life of a farmer but her dad had probably been up for two hours already. She grimaced, having trouble even thinking about waking up at 6 am daily.

Answering, she murmured, dropping her head back on the pillow, "Hello…?"

"Hey, did I wake you?" Julius' voice questioned.

She yawned, "Not really…"

"Sounds like it" he said quickly, "I'll call you back."

"Mm, no…" she murmured, "What's up?"

"'What's up'?" he questioned incredulously, "I'm checking on you!"

"Mm…well, I was so horrified I stayed with my parents" she answered.

She could somehow tell he grimaced. "Hoshiko, he's locked up, you don't have to be afraid."

"I dunno about that" she mumbled, "It was-it's still scary, Julius…"

"And that's what he wanted to do: scare you. _Scar you,_ Just don't…don't give into what he's done, okay?"

"…I'll try" she whispered, clenching her eyes shut.

"Good" he said in a soothing tone, "Um, if I don't call you back tonight, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay…oh, Julius!"

"Hmm?"

"Was your Aunt mad with you? You had to have run out of the meeting to my rescue…" she asked softly.

"Don't worry about it" he said simply, "I made the right decision."

"…Okay."

"All right. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay."

She clicked end and hugged her pillow sadly…and she couldn't help freezing when the door opened up.

"You awake, Hosh?" asked Kyo.

Sighing, calming herself, she turned over, "I'm awake…"

"Breakfast is ready" he reported.

She turned over on her other side before pushing herself up, wandering behind Kyo down the steps. Her father, apparently done with chores, was sitting and already pigging out hungrily. Hoshiko sat across from their mother, Kyo taking the seat opposite their father.

"G'morning…" yawned their father.

They returned the greeting and their mother excitedly spoke to them. Kind of reminded her of high school, Hoshiko smiled some. They were all cranky as hell but their mom was always so…cheery.

Nelly announced 'gouchisama' before standing, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna shower."

Hoshiko's mother gave her, of all things, a sundress to wear…a bit of her legs were showing. Kyo pretty much disappeared after that, probably to vanish from existence for a while. Her mom apparently had something to do so she was all alone when her dad returned. Dressed in his casual wear, he slammed down on the couch and patted the spot beside him.

"Okay, baby doll, tell me what's wrong."

She pouted and slammed down beside him before swallowing, biting her lip, "Promise not to tell Kyo, Jyun, or mama?"

"I can promise not to tell the numbskulls. Your mother though…"

"Please!" she pleaded, "Or I can't tell you…"

Nelly groaned and rubbed his brow, "Fine."

Hoshiko bit her lip, "Promise?"

"I promise" Nelly said sincerely.

"Okay…"

She took a deep breath, "I was at work and recently I've been getting stalked by this guy. The guy and I were alone in the office Friday and he tried to rape me."

Gnawing her lip, she glanced at her father who was staring at her without blinking before finally commenting…

"…What?"

She winced, "Uh, he…he tackled me and-and…well, I don't want to talk about that. But I-I got him with pepper spray-"

Hoshiko watched her father's expression as she told the tale and almost stopped as his brown eyes turned near black, his jaw ticking rapidly. Swallowing, she finished slowly.

"A-and I hid in the closet, called a coworker that was nearby, and uh, they came and saved me, ha…"

Nelly turned his head away and stared at the coffee table…before kicking it over. Hoshiko jumped and he stood, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Where is he?" his tone leaving no room for question.

"Daddy" she flinched, "You don't have to do anything, he's locked up and everything!"

"And I don't give a damn! Where is he?!" he hissed.

"I-I dunno, honest" she whined, "My boss called the cops and he's locked up."

"What's this f—ker's name?" he demanded next.

"Dad-"

He gave her a furious look, " _His name_ , Hoshiko."

"…Hoji. Makita Hoji."

Nelly suddenly sat and was silent before mumbling, "Did…did he manage to…?"

"N-no. I got away, promise…" she murmured.

"This…coworker. I want to thank them personally" Nelly said suddenly.

Hoshiko imagined a meeting between her father and Julius…and realized she could probably never think of anything more awkward in the universe. Frowning, she coughed.

"Uh, they're not very…social. I'll tell them, if you like."

"…I guess."

Nelly then glared at her, "This happened _Friday_. Why didn't you tell me? What-what would I have done if something had happened?"

She grimaced and pressed her face against his chest, "…I was so scared, papa. I wanted you to come so bad."

Nelly seemed to wince himself, absently stroking her back, "I…I guess I can't protect you as much as I'd like to, huh…?"

She shook her head and he growled, "If I'd been there, I'd have destroyed that bastard."

"Don't do anything rash, papa" she mumbled, hugging him.

"Yea."

She scrunched her face, knowing full well her father wasn't going to anything rash…he was going to do something EXTREMELY rash…but whatever. She closed her eyes and felt a little happier that she'd told someone. He was angry about it and looked like he could kill…but she didn't think he knew just how horrible reliving that experience was…

She preferred depending on herself…but she was glad her dad was there for her…and…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shimizu Julius wandered around the mall, looking for a gift to appease his aunt. She was having her birthday soon.

It had all been going downhill lately, it seemed. She tried dually as hard as before to get him to marriage meetings. It was ridiculous but now, he just turned them down, not even entertaining the idea anymore. So if he could get her something she really liked…

…It'd been about six months.

What did that old soap opera rerun his aunt watch say? 'Like sand in the hour glass, these are the days of our lives'? It was kind of a fitting parallel. It just…kind of flew by. He winced…but…maybe not to Hoshiko.

She had had good days, she had had bad days. She got really upset sometimes, fighting off tears that the females in the office had come to learn to comfort. They all told her that it was okay, that they got molested on trains and buses and taxis. It did bother them but that they were safe and that was all that mattered.

He supposed it never struck him that women seemed to almost _have_ to be put through that kind of thing. His trust of the opposite gender may have been excessively lacking but he didn't think that was right, that they had to accept being molested out in public like it was normal.

But…it had been six months…

She was seemingly 'over it'. Hoji had been prosecuted and sentenced as a sex offender. On top of that, Julius heard this rumor that some cop had let a guy by that beat the living hell out of Hoji. Served him right…though rather random and curious.

Peeking into a boutique, he ran his fingers through his bangs before looking at the Louis Vuitton store. His desires for Hoshiko though? That wasn't over.

It bugged him to death that he wanted her so. He wanted that look she had when she woke up, a sultry heavy lid gaze, her hair tousled sexily, and her skin pale in the bright sunlight. He wanted that sleepy voice, a tone between disoriented and not realizing how seductive she sounded…it got him every time and he, shamefully, had to admit calling her early in hopes of hearing it.

…He _despised_ being infatuated.

And even better, they were on a project together.

Eo, on one of his great brainstorms, decided they'd all team up and do team portfolios. Julius naturally was paired with her…and they tried to work on it at work but got distracted by all the official sales and actual crafting of other pieces. Now? Now the portfolio was due Tuesday…yea, it was Saturday, but Monday, they'd be preoccupied with some long meetings. So, they decided to meet up at her house and work from tonight to tomorrow.

…He was _definitely_ not spending the night there.

But he'd see her house. It definitely had potential for some interesting occurrences or at least more vivid fantasies for his nightly dreams…which would just make his life SO great. What else could spectacularly happen?

"Louis is too good for you."

….Damn it.

He glared at Seiwa Roomi incredulously, the short woman standing beside him, holding multiple bags.

"Luckily he's not my type" Julius countered dryly.

Roomi sent him a smirk, "So why are you looking?"

"I'm getting a gift" he said shortly.

Roomi sighed, "Isn't it hard? She's so difficult."

Julius cocked a brow, "What…?"

"It's for Hoshiko, right? Her birthday's today."

" _What_?"

Roomi sighed, "She's too busy to do anything but I figured I'd get her something for when she can."

…Why the hell didn't she tell him!? Grr!

"It's so weird, isn't it?" Roomi remarked vaguely, "I mean, I thought Jyun being 29 was odd, but…"

Julius scowled, "What are you talking about?"

"I dunno about you but I was _astonished_ to find out that I'm younger than Hoshiko."

He snorted, "Really…? So how old is she, twenty?"

"Uh, no, that'd make me nineteen or younger" she stuck out her tongue.

"You don't even look fifteen."

She glared and he waved a hand, "Never mind. How old is she for real? I can't really see her being more than 21."

"She's turning 25."

Julius nearly tripped over one of the square tiles in the mall, shocked out of his mind, managing to catch himself, " _What_?"

"Yea, I'm only 23 myself" she shook her head.

So was he! 25? Hoshiko was two years older than him? It hadn't really occurred to him. She always seemed _so_ young…and well, 25 wasn't _old_ , he just didn't expect older than HIM…

…He was into a vaguely older woman?

That should kill his interest, he thought confidently. Older women tended to be dominant…and he hated dominance.

…Course, it was still Hoshiko…Damn it, he was still intrigued, if not more so! Scratching the back of his head, he crooked his shoulder. "So, uh, what have you gotten her?"

"I'm getting her a new outfit" Roomi nodded.

"…What outfit can you get from Victoria Secret?" he questioned, noting that bag and hoping it was something she'd just gotten for herself.

Roomi, not missing a beat, rested her other bags at her feet, pulling out a lacy black…bra. He gawked since, well, that probably couldn't begin to contain her 'assets' so…

"The shirt I got for her would look great with this under it. It's the same material so it'd be too sexy."

His mind imagined it…and it nearly killed him. Turning around, holding his nose in hopes it wouldn't geyser like it tended to when some situation made him conjure up erotic images of Hoshiko, he grumbled.

"Th-that's cool. Uh, I-I want to get her something too."

"Get her a necklace" she said brightly, "She doesn't seem to have many."

He sulked, "I can't afford Mamiya…"

"Silly, I only have some because I have a sugar daddy" she waved her hand, "Besides, Hoshiko would freak if you bought her Mamiya."

He scowled and stared into a jewelry display, "…What color says Hoshiko anyway?"

"This might be hard for you to accept…" Roomi remarked, sizing up his purple jeans, lime green pin striped button up dress shirt, and matching shoes, "But…I don't think Hoshiko has a color. With Hosh, you want practical. Something she can work with everything she wears."

Julius stroked his chin, "…So just silver?"

"Maybe a diamond or onyx too."

…Hoshiko could possibly be the first unrelated woman he'd bought a present for.

…What was happening to him?

She was 25, he stated to himself as if it'd help, looking through displays. Older women, even if only by two years, usually equaled dominant which Hoshiko had already displayed, even if it was less prominent in the wake of this Hoji incident.

…He was going to treat her as a friend. No more sex dreams, no more fantasizing. Nothing was going to break that vow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mm, come in."

Julius nearly swallowed his tongue when she answered the door in a fitted white tank top that rose mid-belly button and a pair of 'Pink' capri sweatpants, rolled at the top and showing off _more_ skin.

…It wasn't that sexy, he grinned tightly, answering, "Uh, thanks for having me."

Did he really just say that? Hoshiko smirked, "I promise, nothing in my house is going to bite. Come inside."

Come…inside. His mind just started screaming rather incoherently as he walked in vacantly, Hoshiko closing the door behind him.

She turned around and his mind went numb, her pronounced posterior not at all affected by the baggy sweat pants. Grasping his wrist, growing more and more horrified by the prospect of spending hours here, he followed.

"I started some basic designs" she announced, sitting at her small round table, "But realized I don't know what we're going for. Colors? Complimentary? Primary? That kind of deal."

He nodded slowly and sat across from her, taking out his sketchbook, "It should…pop."

"Pop?" she echoed.

"Yea, uh, like have blackened silver or deep white silver around a brightly colored jewelry" he suggested.

She tapped her chin, cocking a brow, "I haven't actually seen much like that. You know, outside of the gothic style."

"Yea, we want this to be something photographers want to put on their models, something the everyday woman can roll into."

Hoshiko clapped her hands, "Lemme go grab the portfolio my brother gave me. Maybe we can analyze exactly what photographers like to use."

He nodded slowly and watched her prance off. Okay, so far, so good. He could behave himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

' _God, if you're up there…please stop making her lean over like that'_ Julius pleaded, staring wide-eyed at the cleavage Hoshiko kept showing when she leaned over to take a marker.

…Or did he want that? Conundrums, conundrums.

"Mm, I think it's still coming out too gothy, Julius…" she frowned, tapping her chin.

Julius glanced at the drawing, "Well, maybe that's not too bad. There's a lot of Lolita models that can work it."

"That is still a pretty popular trend" she noted, nodding in agreement.

He dropped his pictures and slumped, the two having moved to sit at her coffee table to stretch their legs out, "I'm exhausted."

"It's only nine" she frowned, "And we still have to run to the copy shop to get the slides done anyway."

"We're not even close to getting these colored though or typing the slides" he groaned, dropping his head.

"You should take a nap after we eat. I'll order a pizza" she replied, grabbing her phone, "And I'll brew some coffee."

He nodded from where his head rested on the coffee table. She made the call and ordered while walking into the kitchen.

…It was kind of cozy. Hell, they were just hanging out, but…it didn't take much of a stretch to imagine this as more. Minus out the work on a huge project, it…could be romantic, maybe.

He blinked as a clear bottle of something was placed in front of him. Smirnoff.

"…We're drinking?"

"They're low proof" she shrugged, slamming down in her spot, one in her hand.

He cocked a brow, popping the top, "I didn't take you as a drinker. Well, a casual drinker anyway."

She sipped hers and slumped, "It kind of helps me sleep. I've been freaking out a lot since…you know."

Julius' brows furrowed, "Hoshiko…"

She waved a hand and sucked down half the bottle before the doorbell rang. Standing, she skipped over to answer and he scowled. Really…? Even after six months?

"It amazes me how fast they can make pizzas nowadays" Hoshiko remarked, sitting and setting them on the table.

"I wouldn't know, I refuse to eat them."

Hoshiko slammed her palm on the table, " _What_?"

"It's…tacky. It's like eating…French fries or potato skins" he sighed airily.

"Are you nuts? Only a ass-hat eats all fancy all the time!"

He snorted and continued to drink as she glared, " _I'm_ not ordering anything else. Besides, what was that nacho thing about if you don't eat stuff like this?"

"Naturally I was joking."

Hoshiko rolled her eyes and pulled out a cheesy slice of pizza topped with meats, setting it down on a plate and slicing it with a knife and fork, holding a square between her fingertips.

"Say 'ah'."

"'Ah', no" he grunted.

"Julius" she glared.

He stuck out his tongue, leaning back and drinking further, "Want me to eat it? Mouth feed it to me."

She turned bright red, "I-I will do no such thing!"

"I know" he smiled, polishing off the bottle.

Her eyes narrowed…and next thing he knew, she'd tackled him.

"Ah!"

She glared down at him, probably entirely unaware of how her lying on top of him was both affecting him and his vivid imagination. He stared plainly back at her.

"Hoshiko, totally, totally kidding. I eat pizza" he said simply.

"Good" she said in the same tone, putting the piece she had against his lips.

He smiled and ate the piece from her fingertips. Yep, this should have been way more awkward…

Nevertheless, Hoshiko didn't move and moved the plate to sit beside her, feeding him absently while lying on top of him. Yup…awkward but not doing anything about it.

He grimaced as his body demanded he do something about it…and not to necessarily move her either. He stared up at her dryly.

"You usually lie on top of guys and feed them or am I special?"

She shrugged and he cocked a brow…then it occurred to him that Hoshiko did seem to be a bit of a lightweight and may have been vaguely intoxicated. Still, he'd barely felt what they were drinking, it was like drinking soda.

He sighed and sat up himself, thinking it was best to be…responsible. She grabbed another slice and fed herself, sliding off of him.

"I used to feed my daddy" she said suddenly, "When I was really little, I'd sit on his tummy and feed him chips."

Daddy and tummy, huh? "Well now, I'm not your daddy."

"When I was stuck in the closet, hiding from Hoji, I wanted him" she admitted with a sigh, "Because daddy always made it better, even when I thought I didn't need him. I wanted my baka brothers too…I was _really s_ mall when I fed them chips."

Julius' heart skipped a beat as she looked at him cutely, "And I had wanted you as well so I guess I have to feed you too."

Holy crap.

"Uh, w-well, I…see…" he stuttered rampantly, standing, "Uh, excuse me for a second. You…should get that coffee. It might help keep me awake…and, um, get some for yourself too."

"Okay!"

Rushing into her bathroom, he swiftly splashed his face with water, clutching the sides of the sink as he let the liquid slosh down his nose and cheeks, dripping into the sink.

He couldn't do this. He had to get the hell out of here before he jumped on her. Rubbing his face of the lingering dampness, he glared at his reflection in the mirror. No, he knew how to control himself. He _had_ to be in control…he would not be _broken_ by some random woman.

Steadying himself, he wandered back out and found her drinking the coffee, a cup nearby where his pizza sat. Whoever said coffee didn't sober someone up must have just meant for driving…because Hoshiko was back to normal pretty quickly, talking business again and drawing as she ate.

…It was actually slightly unnerving.

He tapped his pen as he gazed at her, coloring a jewel on one of their designs in Photoshop. What was with that? And she acted like everything was peachy! She nearly gave him an aneurysm! …On top of other things.

Honestly, he'd already been there for a while but somehow her lying on top of him almost pushed him over the edge. Her scent had registered. He really, really liked that scent, he thought drearily.

"…Why are you staring at me like that?" she questioned suddenly, a disturbed look on her face.

"Like what?" he murmured.

"Like… _Hoji._ "

His eyes widened and he sat up straight, giving her a sullen look, "I resent that."

"Yea, well, you're not the one getting ogled like a piece of meat" she grumbled.

"Oh, so that's awkward?" he demanded, "Not like when _someone_ just decided to jump on top of me like it was effin' normal."

She flustered haughtily, "S-so what? It's not like it was sexual or anything, I was just _playing_."

"Well, I'll tell you this: Your _playing_ can be construed as 'leading on' by most men" he said, growing snippy.

That look on her face meant this was going to get, unfortunately, ugly. She threw a marker at him, "Who the f—k would lead _you_ on?"

He was pretty sure that was the first time he'd heard her say…that. Pathetically, he found that kind of hot too. "I guess you."

"I have no interest in you or anyone else for that matter" she hissed, "What is wrong with you guys? Why can't it just be freakin' platonic? I hate it!"

"Who said I wanted you either?" he demanded.

"So what, you're just staring at me like Hoji did for kicks and giggles?" she said darkly.

He sent her a look, "I don't know _why_ I'm staring at you, Hoshiko, you're nothing I'd ever want."

"Let's keep it that way."

"With your stupid hair…"

"Hey!"

His eyes narrowed at her, "And your…domineering growly personality."

" _What_? I'd hoped 'let's keep it that way' would pipe down on the insults" she growled.

He wasn't done, however, crawling towards her, his voice a few decibels lower, "And your face when you wake up…your voice in the morning…the wildflowers…it all drives me insane…"

Hoshiko's eyes widened as she backed away, gulping, "Wh-what?"

"Nn, the wildflowers" he groaned as he got close enough to bury his nose in her hair, the scent most prominent there, "It just makes me so…frustrated."

Hoshiko nearly froze, as if she figured out something horrible and yelped, "Julius!"

"I wanted to strangle Hoji" he whispered as he faintly kissed her cheek, closing his eyes, "I don't want anything to touch you before I do and especially not harm you like he was planning to do…"

She grabbed his shoulders, glaring angrily though bright red, "Get away, Julius! This isn't funny!"

She squeaked as he nudged her down, gazing at her, "It isn't. It isn't funny how much I want you. I've never wanted _anything_ more in my life…"

She gaped as he gently came closer to her face, his lips less than a millimeter from hers, whispering sultrily, "I know you smell like wildflowers…but how do you taste?"

Hoshiko could barely utter a syllable as his lips pressed against hers gingerly, carefully. Flustered, her mind perplexed, she slowly, nervously opened her mouth…

He moaned as she slid her tongue against his, unsure if she was doing this right. She'd made out with one guy in her 25 year existence. But Julius didn't act as if it were wrong, kissing her back, his lips caressing hers dotingly.

Closing her eyes, forgetting to in the midst of all this, she grazed her fingertips over the side of his face faintly…before realizing…

WHAT THE HELL?

Closing her mouth promptly, she kneed Julius away quickly, "What the hell?!"

He scowled, glaring down at her, "What?" 

"Get away from me!" she demanded.

Julius snorted, "You were just into it. Get back there."

"No!"

He sighed absently and she growled as he leaned down and nipped at her neck, murmuring, "You don't even understand, Hoshiko. I'd let you _dominate_ me…"

Hoshiko flustered, though admittedly curious, "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"I don't let _anyone_ dominate me" he growled, kissing up her neck.

Hoshiko pinked more, grasping his shoulders, "You're being ridiculous! Stop!"

…Jyun and Kyo used to jab her there all the time, the spot under her ear generally very soft and ticklish. She'd laugh endlessly as long as they tickled her there. Of course, an entirely different feeling occurred when Julius licked, kissed, and nipped the same spot.

She moaned, instinctively lifting her hips to greet his, finding that he had either gotten way too into this or had been into the idea of this for a while.

He pulled away, stunned, staring at her wide-eyed, "…Woah."

"Sh-shut up!" she blurted, humiliated, "This has gone far enough!"

"Are you kidding? I've just learned something amazing…" he remarked simply, leaning back down, kissing the spot again.

She whined, groaning under her breath, holding his shoulders as he sucked at the spot fervently. No…why'd it feel so good…? And ugh, why was it Julius…?

…Hoshiko got the disturbing idea, however, that if this was anyone else, it wouldn't be nearly as arousing. And that…that horrified her.

Nearly jumping out of her skin as Julius slipped his hand under her shirt, she hissed, "N-no!"

Pulling away from his perusal momentarily, he stared her straight in the eye, "I promise, Hoshiko, I won't hurt you…"

His red eyes were like fire, strong and resolute, causing her to swallow hard, unable to say anything…but she nodded, gulping, closing her eyes tightly as he chuckled, returning to her neck.

"Relax…I promise it'll feel nothing but good."

Her breath caught as he wrapped his hand around her breast, cupping the flesh, dragging the fingertip of his thumb around her nipple. She bit her lip, a weird pleasured whiny sound escaping her. Julius groaned and sat up, grabbing the ends of her shirt. She squealed, grabbing his hands.

"N-no! Th-they're tiny and n-not cool and I don't want anyone to ever see them!"

"You're too adorable" he purred, "I assure you, I have nothing against not gigantic breasts…besides, I've been staring them up all day. They're average and that's enough for me."

"Julius!" she scowled.

But he pushed the padded tee over her breasts and swallowed hard, staring at the rosy buds, in near disbelief that. Well, this was _real._

…Dreams definitely didn't compare.

He leaned down and she nearly jumped up, "W-what are you doing?!"

"Relax" he repeated.

"N-no..." she rasped as he used his hand to massage one of the lumps and suckled at the other.

She moaned, rolling her hips against his, the action driving him crazy. He moaned as well, steamy, closing his eyes.

"Hoshiko, it feels so good when you push against me…"

The woman flushed and he opened his eyes again, staring into her eyes as he completely tugged her shirt over her head. She clenched her teeth and he was startled as she finally pushed him off top of her. He was a tad disappointed, but…he supposed he shouldn't have forced a situation she didn't want.

He started, stunned, as she sat in his lap and started unbuttoning the top of his shirt, dragging the article over his head. He stared at her, wide-eyed. She was bright red, blurting. "T-there! If my shirt has to be off, so does yours!"

Julius stared, wide-eyed, before grinning lazily, "Sounds good to me. What are you going to do now?"

She froze and he closed his eyes, "I'll give you a second to decide because I know _exactly_ what I'm going to do to you."

Hoshiko wasn't sure how she got into this situation. She had _no_ idea what to do to a man…at least, the upper half. Her idiot pervert brothers lent enough innuendo for her to know what could be done to the lower half. Gnawing on her own, she noted that Julius had really…attractive lips. It was weird, she never thought anything like that could be pretty but they were so…drawing. Closing her eyes, she kissed him again, pressing her hands to his bare chest.

He returned the kiss tenfold, wrapping his arms around her waist, one hand holding her hip, the other running down her back slowly, teasingly. It was…hot. She pulled away to trace kisses across his jaw, up the side of his face, down his neck. He whispered, feathery, sexily, her name, tilting his head to aid her actions.

…This was Julius. The last man in the universe she thought she'd be making out with shirtless! She'd made sure everyone knew they weren't like that.

But it bothered her that she wasn't even vaguely interested in stopping him as he slid her sweatpants down her thighs.

"J-Julius…" she rasped.

"I liked lying flat more" he said slowly, "…Do you want to continue?"

That question could have led her to freedom, to ending it before it got a thousand percent more awkward. But her body and her senses were telling her something completely different, something so different that she nodded, stood rapidly, and grabbed his hand, leading him back to her bedroom.

…What was she doing?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…She _was_ a virgin.

Shimizu Julius stared at the ceiling as Hoshiko, having panted for what seemed like hours, had dozed off, lying on her stomach, her hand rested under her ear. He lied on his back underneath the sheet, his leg partially out. It was…bizarre.

It was frantic, actually. His body was so excited he could barely keep himself from just…penetrating. But he knew that she was probably freaked and that foreplay was the best option.

…He'd…of course, done some…touching…and in that, he found that…well, she was quite possibly a virgin. He hadn't ultimately believed her, especially when he found out she was 25. 25 and no sex? No way… but she was…really…not…well, she was...

Anyway, she seemed aroused enough and he was definitely pretty stimulated so…he went in.

Women…didn't loosen when they had sex, he learned that from non-batty women and perverted males. Just something felt very…tight with Hoshiko. And he'd nearly climaxed upon entrance.

" _Nn!"_

 _Hoshiko, obviously in pain, whined, "W-what?"_

" _Un, it's…it's nothing" he gasped, trying to keep himself from doing something premature._

 _He wriggled his hips a little, hoping to make it more comfortable. She bit her lip, panting aggressively. Thrusting his hips a bit more, he relaxed when the sounds she made sounded less like he was torturing her and more like he was pleasuring. Reassured, he started thrusting harder…and she moaned, lifting her hips._

… _And tightened more._

 _He could have cried in ecstasy and horror, so close to ejaculating it was ridiculous. Hoshiko stared up at him, startled, covered in a thin layer of sweat._

" _Wh-what?"_

" _D-don't do that!" he yelped._

" _Do what?" she demanded, clenching her hips again._

 _He gritted his teeth, "THAT."_

"… _Oh, sorry."_

 _He groaned in his head and grasped her legs, rolling his hips back and forth against her. She moaned, hugging his neck, as he continued, his number one dream coming true. Her sounds got louder and louder until she threw her head back, screaming, sounding almost shocked, as she apparently was…satisfied._

 _The action caused her to…wrap around him again and he just gave in, joining in the impassioned sound himself as he came inside of her._

…He'd been her _first_.

He stared at the ceiling, the knowledge that he'd been the first man to ever…do that very troubling. He…he was interested in having sex with Hoshiko. For a lot of months, he'd wanted her, craved her, desired her. He even told her he'd let her dominate him.

…He just…didn't think he'd be that first person.

Swallowing, rubbing his eyes, he bit his lip. He blamed all the women in his life. He was always lied to. He was always told things that were impossible, that'd never happen, that he'd been made to believe but ended up being false.

It was…lame but he hadn't believed Hoshiko saying she was a virgin…and she'd been telling the truth.

Sitting up, he rubbed the back of his neck tensely. This was ridiculous! He…he had no reason to freak just because he was Hoshiko's first. First, third, eighth, it didn't matter.

…Holy crap, he was her first.

"Mm, Julius…?"

He stiffened and looked over his shoulder at her, her body still pressed against her crisp baby blue sheets, her eyes dark in the moonlight. She gazed at him sleepily.

"What are you doing?" she asked, rubbing her cheek.

He stared at her, wide-eyed and astonished. Who didn't remember their first time? He still recalled it so vividly. A…a part of her would always have a part of him now. He…he _hated_ that.

 _She_ told him once that she'd always have a part of him. Always…always he'd wanted that back.

Turning his head, Julius' gaze shifted rapidly. Why? Why had he even _risked_ it? Why didn't he use his head? Hoshiko was too straight forward to admit to being a virgin and actually _lie_ about it. Why hadn't he thought that he'd be that… _one_? What was wrong with him?

Why in all this time had he come to crave a…a _woman_? A devious creature if ever one existed.

…His interest in her _had_ to be complete. He'd done the ultimate deed: he'd had sex with her. Hell, he had taken her _virginity._ They could continue on as nothing. Nothing had to exist between them now. She was _nothing_ to him.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when she pressed against his back, holding his shoulders with her small hands, her lips pressed against the side of his neck.

"…I'm sorry" she said meekly, "I…I didn't really please you, did I? I'm…I'm such a newb."

Julius' heart pulsed as he swallowed a huge lump, his lips parting as he tried to find words, as her scent once again started to overtake him, her creamy soft skin touching his, her lips warm against his flesh…

…He…could be her second time too…

His heart raced as he roughly pulled away, launching from her bed, standing quickly. She fell forward a little, catching herself on her palms, staring at him, stunned. Julius stared at her, wide eyed and gaping, realizing with disdain, with utter disgust.

He was insane about her.

This damned interest wasn't going anywhere. This wasn't the stupid puppy love he was accustomed to, the kind where he teased the girl mercilessly and she went away. Those girls were _frivolous_ to him. This wasn't just lust or desire; he _cared about_ her. It was a…a _need_.

…He vowed never to need _anyone_ ever again, especially some _woman._

Seething, gritting his teeth, he glared angrily at Hoshiko, "You're-you're _nothing_ to me!"

She gawked, "Wh-what?"

"You're-you're just like all the other skanks in the office" he snarled, "En-enticing men because you have the power to. I-I _hate_ that. You don't mean _anything_ to me. Why'd I have sex with you?!"

Hoshiko stared at him for a moment before standing, wrapping her sheet around herself tightly…

And punching him in the face.

He recoiled, startled, and she said without wavering, "Get…get out."

Holding his cheek, he was, weirdly, shocked when she started throwing his clothes at him, shoving him backwards. He grimaced as he tried to dress while she was almost throwing him towards the door.

"H-"

"Shut up!" she snapped, "There isn't anything you can say now, _Julius_ , everything's apparent. You're just like the men in the office, you're just like Hoji! It's just all one big f—king game to you! And when you finally have it, when you gain it and it's nothing I ever asked for, you-you call _me_ the skank, the whore?!"

He opened his mouth though ultimately was wordless but she declared again, " _Shut up_! I don't ever want to hear your voice again! I'm nothing to you and you're nothing to me! Now get the hell out!"

Julius nearly tripped backwards as she forced him out, throwing all his stuff out at him before slamming the door loudly. Still in a state of shock, he winced hard as he heard sobbing. Not able to swallow, feeling sick, he crawled towards her door, leaning backwards against it, listening to her cry.

Clasping his eyes shut, he pulled his knees to his face, clenching his hair. After a moment, he opened his eyes, nauseated, sickened not by the fact that he made love to someone he truly, for once in his entire life, cared for…

But that he was the bastard that continued to make her cry.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why am I so stupid…?"

Hoshiko stared at herself in the mirror, idly playing with her hair, her skin paler than usual, and her eyes bloodshot. She hadn't slept at all…

Why…? Why was she stupid enough to go to bed with him? To allow him to take something she considered precious from her? She laughed bitterly, humorlessly. She was loathe to say it but she wished she'd listened to her brothers else she wouldn't feel like such a slut right now.

She had _so_ many chances to say no. Hell, he was a bastard, but he _did_ ask if she wanted to continue, the _perfect_ opportunity for out. 'No, I think this is far enough'. Instead, what did she do?

…Why was she so stupid?

He'd probably flaunt it around the office that he'd managed to get into her pants. Everyone would come onto her tenfold and she might even have another Hoji, she thought miserably.

Braiding on both sides of her head, absently pulling it back into one larger braid, she sighed gloomily. What was done was done. She had had control over the situation. It was her fault it got that far.

…She just wished she knew why it had gotten that far.

Never in her wildest thoughts did she think she'd sleep with… _Julius._ Julius? Honestly, she hadn't thought she'd do anything with _any_ man but Julius? …Kind of made her wonder if she was a bit of bi-curious, the guy was kind of womanly.

…Well, not in that area.

She grimaced, washing her face of the pallor and now blush. Ridiculous! Stop thinking about him, she scolded herself. Picking up her phone, she swallowed and called the one person that seemed to know how to handle these situations. Of course, Hoshiko never knew what kind of reaction she'd get with her.

An hour or so later, after getting dressed, she drove down to the café she liked to go to when she had a little extra cash. Seiwa Roomi was already sitting there, eating a slice of cake. Hoshiko frowned, walking past her to take the seat across from the shorter woman, "Hi…sorry I'm late. Traffic over here was kind of rough."

Roomi looked up, blinking, nodding in agreement, "Yea, tell me about it. I thought I was a bad driver but these people. What's up?"

Hoshiko took a seat and ordered some coffee when the waitress came over. Roomi gave her a smile, apparently staring at her impromptu hairstyle, "You do that?"

She blushed, feeling awkward that she for whatever reason wanted to mess with her hair, "Yea…I was just kind of playing with it."

"It's cute. You're definitely becoming more of a girl" Roomi remarked slyly.

Hoshiko pouted a little about that. Maybe that's what Julius meant though: she was more…feminine and… 'enticing'. Didn't mean he had to be such a dick. Clearing her throat, glancing around shiftily, hoping someone she knew wouldn't pop up, she mumbled, "I…have a…little bitty problem."

Understatement of the Year.

"What's wrong?" Roomi asked, leaning closer since Hoshiko was silently admitting this.

With a deep pronounced groan, the sheer horror of it killing her again, she dropped her head on the table and sobbed, "I…slept with _him_."

There were probably a lot of possible 'hims' but Roomi seemed to understand, her eyes widening as she gasped, "Whaa! No way. How'd that happen?"

Hoshiko shook her head, still rested against the table cloth, feeling like throttling herself, "I don't know, we were just…talking and the next thing I know we were going at it in my bed! I-I don't even _like_ him! Why?"

It was the absolute _last_ thing in the universe she wanted to hear but Roomi suddenly responded, unwavering, "Well, you have to like him a _little_."

Hoshiko's head shot up, incredulous. Like him?! "He's a jerk! He was telling me that now I've become just some other skank, dressing like a woman!"

Roomi rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her coffee, "Yea, _especially_ from _him,_ I'd tell him to shut the hell up"

"You…you think he'll tell someone?" Hoshiko questioned faintly, her main concern…

"Does he have reason to? You should probably talk to him, hun, tell him it was a rush of hormones, that you're just not that type of girl to have spontaneous romps."

…She really wasn't, she thought, feeling sick and like the biggest tramp in the world. She had no interest in a relationships thus she had really been ready to accept that being sexless was a long term thing. But no, no, she lost her virginity to a guy that insisted she was 'nothing' to him a mere couple of minutes after they were done.

…Did that bother her?

Hoshiko stared into her lap, feeling extremely depressed, as Roomi chimed, "Oh no, he wasn't your…?"

First. Yes, yes he was, and he was an ass. Hoshiko felt her eyes burn but hid it, tapping her head against the table, "Yes. I…I was stupid…stupid, stupid, stupid."

Roomi growled, "No, you're not. You should go tell Jyun so he can beat the bastard up."

She nearly froze…tell…her brothers? The same brothers that had an aneurysm that once she admitted she had kissed a guy. And worse, when she made up a fictional story about being pregnant? NEVER.

"Please don't tell Jyun! You don't know how bad the males in our family are, they're like these crazy alpha males that murder any outside male that tries to come in!" she rambled crazily. 

"Why are you protecting him?" Roomi pressured, looking confused. 

Protecting him…? "I-I'm not! I-I just don't have to run to my big brother for protection! I'm not weak!".

Roomi sighed, though didn't seem convinced, "Fine, fine…"

"Besides…Jyun and I are finally getting along for once and I…I don't want him to think I'm a whore or something…" Hoshiko thought sadly, knowing that even after Jyun and Kyo murdered and tossed Julius' body into the river, they'd probably be disappointed in her.

This seemed to shock Roomi though as she snorted, "What! One: he's your brother, he wouldn't think that. Two: Jyum is in no place to even think something like that."

As true as that may have been, it did nothing to placate her feelings. She just wanted to hide in a closet forever and forget she'd ever met Shimizu Julius.

"In a time like this, dear, you shop away your worries."

Hoshiko glanced up at Roomi and frowned thoughtfully at this statement. Yea, she'd heard about women just…going into debt to get over depression, alas…"That doesn't sound very healthy…"

"Just every once in a while. Let's go. We'll find you something extra pretty and 'skanky' to wear to work" Roomi smiled, grabbing her arm after paying for her cake.

Hoshiko groaned. Oh, that made sense. Just live up to his expectations.

…Why'd this have to hurt so bad?

Randomly, as they entered a boutique, Roomi remarked, "Your brother's are acting like brats."

Oh really? "Yea, that's shocking" Hoshiko snickered dryly. Her brothers were always going to be like that, no matter how old they got.

Roomi continued, looking at a rack, "I don't know what the deal is! Usually they seem cool but now they glare at each other and make sharp, cruel snippy remarks. It's dumb."

Hoshiko pondered over it and remembered the times when a third person was involved with the both of them where they got, well, really mean with each other. It was usually always a woman and they got mean because they got competitive, thus…"Kyo probably likes you."

Roomi paused, staring at her, "Wha…?"

Hoshiko shrugged when she noticed a kind of interesting skirt. It was probably way above her knees, a skirt with pretty white designs. What got her was the pretty cerulean green kind of color.

"When we were younger, that's pretty much the only thing that put the two against each other: liking the same woman" she notified Roomi.

Roomi was silent for a moment before clearing her throat, saying nervously, "Jyun did say Kyo was in love with me but I thought he was joking."

Nope. "The two joke about everything…except that."

Hoshiko glanced at Roomi as she stared at, of all things, some weird high heeled shoes that were like…tangerine. The shorter woman seemed rather…disappointed, maybe? She picked up one of the shoes, commenting, "Oh…"

It was peculiar, really. She talked to Roomi a lot and even though she'd asked a while back if Roomi was infatuated with her brother, as time passed, she got the feeling that, well, she was. She talked about him a lot, seemed upset when he was upset or bored or sad when he wasn't around…

Curious, and frankly glad something else was on her mind, Hoshiko questioned: "Do you have feelings for him?"

"Kyo…? No, no. He's like my buddy…" with a cough she added, "Though I probably did something I shouldn't have to him yesterday if he thinks he's in love with me…"

Hoshiko smirked. She kind of wished she was just that…carefree about things like that. Of course, she probably could never have reached the 'threesome' or 'swinger' stage even if she was more interested in relationships. "Good job…but I don't mean Kyo."

Her companion paused, glancing over her shoulder, "Wha?"

"I mean my oldest brother. Y'know, Jyun" Hoshiko specified.

A telltale sign if any, Roomi nervously laughed, grabbing the loud orange shoe and quickly walked past her towards an employee. AH HA. Hoshiko followed, holding the blue green skirt, considering maybe buying it. It was pretty to look at if nothing else.

"I knew it! You like Jyun."

"D-don't be silly. That'd be entirely inappropriate!" she complained.

Really? "You and Jyun _breathe_ inappropriate" snickered Hoshiko, adding as if it mattered, "He likes you too, y'know? He talks about you a lot."

True enough, he did talk about her when they went to lunch rather affectionately. Or, at least affectionately for her brother. And of course, there was the gift buying, the coddling, and the random regard for her happiness…

Roomi didn't seem to think so. "Jyun doesn't 'like' me."

Unfortunately, though Hoshiko could kind of see the two together more seriously, alas…"I want to tell you my brother is capable of something like 'love' but…he's just not that type."

Hoshiko grimaced as this seemed to bring Roomi down. "I know that…"

Seeing no need for both of them being depressed, she tried to cheer her up. "But who knows? Jyun just needs to get over it. I mean, he was like seventeen."

Roomi cocked a brow at her, apparently confused by this as she received the shoe size she requested, "What do you mean? What happened?"

Hoshiko still recalled how hurt her brother was over just being…used like that. Back then, she thought he was being dumb. Now though? She…kind of knew what he felt. It hurt. A lot.

"Oh, it was some girl he was completely infatuated with. They dated but seems she just dated him to get to one of his buddies she didn't have the courage to ask. Jyun was pretty crushed. That's when he swore off relationships completely."

It took away Roomi's depression to replace it with irritation, "Just because of some stupid bitch? Just like that?"

Hoshiko shrugged. Jyun was always weird like that…but then, who knew? It just…hurt his trust.

Glancing at the skirt in her hand, she blushed, remembering hearing from Roomi on one trip that she had a rather pronounced 'ass', questioning her, "This would make my thighs look big, wouldn't it?"

Roomi finally laughed, standing and grabbing Hoshiko's hips, reiterating this idea, "It would if you were super hippy, you're more curving in the other way."

Hoshiko pouted, "So would it look okay?"

Roomi said the words Hoshiko hated to hear the most: "Try it on, I'm sure it would compliment your skintone well."

Hoshiko sighed, wandering away to the dressing room. She hated trying things on still even though she liked wearing these kind of things more. It was just kind of time consuming. Alas, she had bought some 'misses' before and had to return them because she didn't try them first…

Roomi came with her after a while, finding a matching dress for her shoes, weirdly. She felt a lot better, she noticed, once they were done with their brief shopping spree. Roomi scowled once they got to their cars.

"Hoshi, whatever that 'guy' said to you, forget it. He wasn't worth your time, especially after you tried so hard to reconcile and whatever with him. Don't even give him the time of day unless he comes back crawling on his hands and knees because you've kept being the bigger person. At some point, he has to admit to being wrong…and this is it."

Hoshiko sighed, "But-"

"He likes you" Roomi informed her at ease, "I know he does, believe me. And he needs to grow up and admit it. If not, forget him."

She glanced at Roomi and bit her lip as she woman waved at her. Julius liked her? Did people that liked each other tell the one they liked that they meant 'nothing' to them? That wasn't anything she wanted.

…But she knew that, deep down, she shouldn't have felt so extremely upset about that. He'd just hurt her so much when he said that. Not the skank part or even the 'enticing' part…but that he didn't consider her anything to him.

…Had…she really gotten to 'like' him?

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…He was such a bastard.

Julius had to drag his feet through Roshinko Day, not knowing how on Earth he was going to be able to face Hoshiko ever again. He'd actually considered quitting.

He hadn't been able to sleep, thinking about what he'd said and…done to her. Rather exhausted, he rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. In all his years, he'd never really felt bad about taking precautions to protect himself. What he told Hoshiko, it was to keep himself from getting hurt.

…It was just for once in his life he didn't like that he'd hurt someone in doing so.

She was so expressive, he thought absently, stopping in the lunch room briefly to grab some coffee. All the women he'd known were secretive, mysterious. He despised that. But Hoshiko was almost crazily outspoken. Maybe that was one reason he liked her. She held no punches. He didn't feel like he was being left in the dark…

It was hard to accept…but he liked her. He…he couldn't believe it, really.

What was laughable was the one girl that he liked, the one girl that had gotten through his torture, and had come to be the one girl that he'd befriended, hated him now.

…He was miserable about a woman. He hated that too.

Frowning as he got closer to his office, he found something like what had played out months ago: guys just lurking around, all google-eyed.

…Oh God.

He sped up, pretty much smelling the testosterone and pheromones in the air, his coworkers drooling like dogs. Quickly pushing past them, he threw the door open wide…

 _iOh God../i_

Hoshiko wandered around the office, putting books away on the shelf. Kind of reminded him of the first time…

Just that first time she wasn't wearing a mini skirt.

He stared, wide-eyed, admiring her…physique. She had long legs, he'd noted before…and extremely noted when they were going at it…and definitely now. And…yea, other parts definitely were noticeably with that material.

…Damn.

Grimacing as she spared him a nanosecond glance and turned away, he awkwardly walked to his desk and sat, wanting to say something…and also wanting to demand why the hell she'd come out in something like that!

Sighing to himself as he put his things away, he followed her at a huge distance when they headed towards the meeting…as did a lot of guys.

…It was kind of a heat, he observed, it kind of tingled behind his brow, causing it to twitch kind of sporadically. He found his jaw kind of ticking too and he strangely had the desire to throw some of the guys into a trashcan or out the nearest window.

…So that was jealousy over a woman, huh?

She sat at the complete opposite end of the table from him and he winced, sitting miserably away, giving her her space. He deserved it.

Eo ranted on for…years about his plans, his desires, his goals, his excitement over their projects—

He and Hoshiko pretty much had the same reaction at the same time. The project. Yep. They'd completely forgot.

Finally done with his happy pep talk, Eo released them and Julius quickly walked into the office after Hoshiko, slamming the door, giving her a serious look.

"You hate me, yes, but I think we _need_ this job and my Uncle would kill _both_ of us if we don't have that project done."

Hoshiko groaned loudly, burying her face in her hands, "I can't believe I _forgot_!"

She dropped her hands though and gave him a deep glare, "Then again, maybe I can."

He winced as she stalked over to her desk, grabbing her bag, "Let's just get to work. We don't have time to waste and we need to get the slides to the printers before they close."

Julius just nodded dumbly and grabbed his Copic and Prismacolor markers and got to work. She glowered after a moment, typing.

"Don't you think it'd be faster to use Photoshop?" 

"This is the primary piece, I don't want it to look so…fake" he explained.

She just cocked a brow and shook her head, returning to her work…and they just sat in silence for five hours. Finishing the last bit of shading _thankfullu_ , he stood and shoved the pictures into his bag, glowering as Hoshiko finished editing the word files, saving them in a digital cloud. She jumped up and sent him a sulk. Julius scowled more…this just sucked.

"I'll take my car to the printer" she said coolly.

Julius' eyes narrowed, "My, aren't we Ms. Environmental, taking two cars to the same place?"

She leered at him and hissed, " _Fine_ , we'll take your car."

He almost rolled his eyes. Almost. Grabbing his keys, they both darted towards the elevator and he spared her as a glance as she bounced impatiently. Man, she was wearing that white shirt that showed off cleavage too, he finally observed, absently and shamelessly enjoying the view.

Once they arrived at the print shop, he'd pretty much forgotten why they were there, his mind in all the wrong places with her ensemble. She scanned frantically as he went to the computers and worked on getting the words onto a foam board poster. All this was ridiculous, he thought, rather bored. He could be doing much better things.

He glanced sideways at Hoshiko, standing at the copier, pressing buttons, her side view very nice

… _Much_ better things.

Hoshiko looked relieved when they finished, everything looking pretty awesome for a rush job. He set the posters in the trunk of his car and groaned, staring up at the night sky. It was like eleven o'clock….

"Do…we need to rehearse?" she mumbled.

Giving her a quick look, he rubbed his temple, "Probably…"

Course, they'd have to go to a lot of acting classes to fake not being awkward.

Driving back to Roshinko Day, they carried the things to the office and tried it out…and, just like expected, it seemed like she despised his existence.

"This is _all_ your fault!" she snapped at him, frustrated, after they tried maybe six times.

Julius just scratched his neck, staring absently to the side, "It is."

She glared darkly at him and he sighed, leaning back against his desk, "What do you want me to say, Hoshiko? I know 'I'm sorry' isn't enough. There's no words available to me that can portray my sorrow over saying those things to you."

Her gaze softened ever so slightly and she glared at her feet, "Then why? You know, I thought _I_ lashed out, but you're _insane_."

Julius shrugged awkwardly, "Unfortunately, I can't argue the validity of that claim…I am. Why though…?"

He turned and wondered why he even was going to admit this but… "I'm rather…distrustful of women. And before you say anything, I wasn't…being disrespectful to you or anything or thought it was some competition to sleep with you."

She scowled and he faced her again, clearing his throat, "I…uh…"

…Yea, he'd…never confessed to anyone ever. It was rather nauseating, actually.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth before grimacing, "I…haven't really done this…so it's…going to come out wrong, I know it is, but I…you."

"I think a crucial word was missing from that statement" Hoshiko said dryly.

"Give me a break" he grumbled, "…Is saying you're not really 'nothing' to me good enough? 'Like' sounds so primary school."

Hoshiko's cheeks flushed and she glowered at her side, "…Okay."

Julius wasn't quite satisfied with that. He just confessed to the first person ever, he needed more than 'okay'. He sulkily walked closer to her and she backed away, startled.

"H-hey, look, I-I don't really know how I feel about that…"

"But you said 'okay'" he said plainly, "I take that as you can't hate me anymore."

Hoshiko gasped as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Andyou know, the sex was mutual…and I know you're not the type so you have to like me."

Hoshiko pinked and grunted, grasping his arms, "Don't get cocky. Who said I liked you?"

"The sex."

Hoshiko groaned and got redder as he chuckled huskily, leaning forward to kiss her eyelid tenderly, "Honestly, I was freaked out mostly by the fact that I was…your first. That's a lot to live up to."

She closed her eyes partially and mumbled softly, "A-a little."

She squeaked when he pulled her closer against him, whispering into her ear, "…Second time is even better."

Hoshiko stiffened and sputtered, "J-Julius!"

"I love the skirt" he commented before grasping her under her knees, pulling her to straddle his waist, earning him a squeal, "Redo?"

"Ju-Julius! No!" she whined.

"Shh…" he purred, kissing her neck, "…Just give me another chance?"

Hoshiko's apprehension was thick but she clenched her eyes tightly, mumbling, "I-if you pull another stunt like what you did, I-I'll sic my brothers on you and they'll kill you!" 

"Well noted."

She gasped again when he reached up her skirt, "Julius, we're at freakin' work!" 

"Yep. That just makes it more exciting."

Hoshiko winced and slowly hugged him, closing her eyes as he kissed her neck tenderly. What was she doing… _again_?

…She wasn't sure she liked this 'like'.

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Franz Ferdinand is a rather random band…if anyone has ever watched the Paradise Kiss though, they randomly have one of their songs as the ending and it's amazingly funny XD

'Pink' is that brand by Victoria Secrets that I can only dream of one day comfortably affording…

Prismacolor and Copic are marker brands…


	9. Shock

**Chapter 9:** Shock

 **Author's Note** : Okay, here's the chapter…innuendo and honestly not a favorite of mine, but it'll do. I want to get to the next chapter but this one is necessary…

Thanks for the reviews, as always, and enjoy XD

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…This was crazy.

Shimizu Julius sat up in his bed, gazing out the window, wondering if he'd just about lost his mind. He probably would have lashed out again if Hoshiko were there. He really did need to get that in check.

They pretty much had sex right then and there. They were still awkward in the presentation the next day. Just at least it wasn't because he'd been an ass to her but that he'd just nailed her on top of his desk…and uh, an adrenaline rush later, on his Uncle's but that was beside the point.

He couldn't do this.

What had led him to believe he could make her happy, to act on his feelings or think that they could begin to be a couple, he had no clue. The nonsense of infatuation, he supposed.

Just how to break it to her…

Standing, not having slept well, as usual, he stared into his closet and felt displeased. All the loud colors weren't really talking to him today. He felt…gloomy. Sighing, he slipped on a simple black button up shirt…and red jeans, he couldn't completely lack color in his wardrobe. And that red vest looked good too…

Wandering out of his house, skipping breakfast, he felt anxious when he walked into the office of RD way too soon. Hoshiko was already sitting there, staring at her notepad, her fingers entwined with her chin propped on top of them. It didn't look like she was really thinking about what was on her desk though.

She looked up and winced. Not a good sign, he thought.

…Or wait, was it? Hoshiko stood slowly and cleared her throat, "Good morning…"

"Good morning…" he echoed, shiftily looking away.

"Um!" she blurted, "I…I was thinking about some things."

"Me too…"

She bit her lip and mumbled, "Uh…you first then."

"…Uh, no, I'm good. You first."

Hoshiko frowned and leaned back on her desk, "We…uh, we should…continue on…as friends, okay?"

He stared at her blankly for a moment and she looked nervous, "I-I mean…"

"Oh, thank God" he groaned, burying his face in his hands, "I thought you'd kill me if I told you that."

Hoshiko's shoulders slumped with relief, "So you mean you felt the same way?"

Julius sighed, nodding and wandering over to his desk, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I think I still have…'feelings'. I just don't think I'd risk it. I mean, we still have to work together, after all."

She nodded in agreement, "It would have just been really awkward like the meeting yesterday."

"Know what'd be extra awkward? If my uncle has us taped in his office" he cringed.

Hoshiko just stared blankly and wide-eyed as he coughed, "Yea, it…hadn't occurred to me."

"We're screwed."

He waved a hand, "We're fine. It's not like we went through his desk or anything."

"No, we just screwed around on top of it" she snorted.

He sighed airily, turning to check his email, "I will say I might miss that…"

She chucked an eraser at him and he chuckled despite himself. Oh well. He knew when things wouldn't work. He'd confessed to her, something of a milestone in itself. But he was practical, generally, and knew that it would be more trouble than it was worth for both of them to let it go any further. They'd been okay before, even though he had many fantasies, so…they'd be okay again.

Nothing would change…just…they'd had sex.

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The statement 'easier said than done' never seemed truer.

Hoshiko sat across from him on the train, eating an apple as she read a novel, dressed in tights and furry boots. God, he found her cute.

Their project was a hit, it seemed. Eo had excitedly told them to go and promote in, of all places, the mountains. The cold, cold mountains, alone, in a cabin that Eo 'insisted' they use. A freakin' cabin alone with Hoshiko in the cold. Was this a test?

"I want to go snowboarding" Hoshiko suddenly remarked, turning a page, "I used to always go on this island near my hometown but it's been a couple years."

He cocked a brow, "Can't say I've ever had the pleasure."

"It's fun" she murmured absently before giving him a quick glance, "Uh, about this cabin…"

"I'll sleep on the couch" Julius assured.

Hoshiko's eyes widened, "Was he really going to have us sleep in a one room cabin?"

"He probably assumed I'd take the couch" he repeated but shrugged awkwardly, "Though, that's kind of weird too…"

…From the best of either of their knowledge, Eo didn't find out about their romp. Or so he meditated on daily.

She looked out at the snow and sighed, "It must really suck though. We're in the dead of summer and it's snowing here."

"Mm, it's pleasant though."

Hoshiko opened her mouth to comment but looked up when it was announced they were arriving. Sighing, she sat up straight and put her stuff in her bag, putting on her long coat.

"I hate cold though" she sighed, "I'm a late spring baby."

He was born pretty much near winter so this weather suited him…but then, he noted absently as he stared at the back of her head, he felt like he kind of hated it too. It made him want to cuddle with his companion here.

Hoshiko gasped as they walked outside, the city before the deep mountains bright underneath the snowflakes.

"Oh, it's so pretty!"

"What happened to it sucking?" he smirked at her.

She stuck out her tongue and he smirked more, grabbing both of their suitcases and following her. He glanced at his watch and sighed. Now to drive another hour to get to the stupid cabin. Sheesh…

"Zomigod" Hoshiko suddenly gasped, gazing straight ahead.

He frowned and followed her stare to a blue haired guy with a bandanna and amber eyes. Eyes narrowing, he glanced at her. "What?"

"I used to have the hugest crush on him when I was younger…" she whispered, pinking.

Julius glanced at the guy, waiting at the bus stop. He didn't _look_ like a celebrity, he thought with a cocked brow. After a moment though, the stranger did look towards them for a moment before frowning.

"Oi! Hoshiko-chan!?"

…Oh man, he wasn't liking this.

The guy ran towards them and Hoshiko blushed, smiling, "Luke-kun."

"Holy crap, you look completely different, I barely recognized you!" he remarked, wide-eyed.

Julius felt his eyes narrow more. Who the hell was this? He looked like…random.

"Yea, I made a few professional appearance updates. What have you been up to?" Hoshiko asked, "It's been years."

"Yosh, nothing much" he remarked, crossing his arms, "Sleeping around, skipping towns every once in a while. The usual."

Hoshiko smirked, "Kyo's mentor."

"Ah, that reminds me!" he gasped, rather excitable, "How are those guys, Jyun and Tets? I haven't been able to get in touch with them in a while."

"Jyun and Tetsuo? They're…them" she remarked, rolling her eyes around.

"Tets isn't still dating that random prudey chick he was with in college, is he?" Luke's nose wrinkled.

"Yea, they're engaged" Hoshiko chuckled.

"Oh God" he rolled his eyes, "He'll just get bored with her. What about Jyun?"

"He's definitely about the same" she sighed, "But he's kind of messing around with Tet's fiancee's sister."

"Are you serious? I expect better from him!"

Hoshiko sighed, "Roomi is the polar opposite of prudish. She'd somehow make a sailor blush, I promise you."

'Luke' laughed, "Oh, that's definitely old times, Jyun getting the wild sister."

Julius tried not to sulk but was probably failing. This guy was apparently a friend of her brother though. No need to get jealous, he told himself. He didn't really even have the right to be…but since this was her brother's friend, nothing could possibly be going on.

The blue haired weirdo looked over his shoulder and saw his bus pulling up, groaning, "Aww man, I totally want to talk to you more but I have to get back home. What are you doing up here anyway?"

"On a a business trip."

"Business trip" he whistled, "I remember when you were like three."

She blushed and Julius felt like either gagging or strangling this guy. "Well, if you're in town for a while, maybe we'll meet up again…though I'm probably going to end up in Nagasaki."

Hoshiko snickered, "Sheesh. Then I guess I'll see you in another eight years?"

"Before that, definitely! I'll come home to Mineral and hang out soon, get some of Mama El's peach cobbler!" he laughed haughtily before looking back as people boarded the bus, "Ah, gotta go."

"Okay. It was nice seeing you" Hoshiko said.

"You too" he agreed before grinning cheesily, winking, "And you know, if you weren't my best buddy's baby sister and I knew he wouldn't murder me, I'd totally invite you back to my place."

…Son of a bitch.

Hoshiko flustered and he sprinted off, waving behind him, as he jumped onto the bus. Julius' eye twitched madly. Oh, okay, he must have had his invisibility cape on, the dumbass just didn't see him standing there with her. How did that bastard know she wasn't with him? Grr…

Hoshiko sighed finally and tried to take her suitcase from him but he flinched away and tossed up his nose, marching towards where the rent-a-cars were waiting. She followed after him. "WHAT?"

"What 'what'? I didn't say anything" he said snippily.

"You're _mad_! And you promised you would tell me before you get mad!"

He glowered as he checked in his numbers and received the keys, "…You know, I _could_ have been…with you."

She just looked puzzled, "Wha'?"

"I _could_ have been your boyfriend or something!" he growled, "And that guy just comes up to you and says something like that!"

Hoshiko stared at him plainly before saying, "So you're mad that he flirted with me…because I _could_ be your girlfriend though I'm not?"

"I think I deserve _some_ courtesy! I'm not even dressed that girlishly, he couldn't _really_ have mistaken me for gay!" he insisted, wearing a kind of dark near black green fisherman's sweater and a pair of jeans.

He blanked a little when she smiled, so adorable. "You're so silly."

She grabbed her suitcase while he recovered from that and sighed, "You're…dementedly right. But Luke's always been a tad dilly, you'll have to forgive him."

Julius snorted and ran behind her, snatching her luggage away again. She squeaked and pouted at him as he smiled some, tossing them into the trunk of the rent-a-car.

"I'll let it go…this time. Next time I'll tell him about the baby."

"You do that" she snickered, climbing into the passenger seat.

He searched his phone for a nearby store so they could have supplies. He was starving. Hoshiko gazed out the window, almost mystified as he drove. Sparing her a look, he frowned irritably. Wait a second.

"…You said you had a crush on him?"

She blinked at him and sighed, blushing a little, "Well, I mean, he was always so…hyper, y'know? He and my brother have known each other since kindergarten and he was always around. Honestly, I might have just liked him because, to him, I was one of the guys. He wasn't like Kyo and sometimes Jyun, telling me I couldn't do things. He always included me when he could."

He grunted and she smirked, " _But_ I saw him last when I was effin' seventeen, ding-dong. It's not like I'd cradle some stupid teen love over him."

"Could have fooled me" he snorted, "And he seemed rather happy to see you too."

"He's like a brother!"

"Last _I_ checked brothers don't say 'I'd totally take you back to my place' as a farewell" he snorted again, louder.

"The other thing he mentioned is totally true: Jyun would kill him if something like that happened between us" she rolled her eyes.

Julius clenched the steering wheel tightly as they waited at a light, feeling that same burning sensation to chase that bus down and choke that guy. "…So you'd…do that if it wasn't for your brother."

"Damn it, Julius, no!"

His alarms warned him that she was angry so he quickly backed off, mumbling, "I'm…just saying…he's…not good enough…"

Hoshiko glanced at him, confused, and he looked away…and who was he to say that?

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"…Those are some girly night clothes."

Hoshiko pursed her lips, giving him a playfully pouty look before darting into the kitchen, "I like them!"

He smirked at the billowy frilly lavendery shirt and matching capris, "Well, whatever makes you happy…"

Julius stretched out on his stomach as she sat on the fluffy rug near the fire, drinking the hot chocolate they'd bought from the store with an absurd amount of marshmallows. She glanced at him, blinking behind the mug pressed to her lips.

"Come closer, it's warmer over here."

Oh baby. "I think I'm good. If I got any closer I might get all snuggly" he sighed absently.

She pinked a little, continuing to sip her drink, "I-it does kind of feel like that though, doesn't it?"

"Wanna?"

She glowered at him and he laughed, crawling closer to her as she flinched back, "Yea, last time something like that happened…"

Grinning lazily, he rested his cheek on her knee, "Not everything leads to sex, silly."

He could tell she blushed more but he was rather oblivious to any discomfort, basking in her warmth. She rested her mug on the bricked pedestal in front of the fire place and leaned back slightly before absently picking strands of hair away from the others.

…God, he loved this. If it just meant _this_ , he'd be in a relationship. It was just…everything else.

But her scent was enticing him again from his place in her lap and her fingers felt so nice brushing through his hair. Closing his eyes, he thought for a moment that it felt like something he could do. He nearly recoiled when he remembered he couldn't. But…it felt so good, he mused as he started to doze.

…Why did things have to be so confusing?

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"…Why do I have to like him?" Hoshiko mumbled under her breath.

She supposed it never occurred to her that she 'liked' this weirdo. They fought like cats and dogs but now it wasn't malicious, it just was them being silly. And even when it was serious it wasn't like it had been. Hoshiko had to admit appreciating the kind of witty banter. It was 'fun', if not kind of stupid. Fun nonetheless.

…And somehow, the action of 'intercourse' was weighing heavily on her mind.

Flustering, she gazed at him as he slept rather peacefully, his light breathing the only sound besides the humming fire. She kind of wanted to recant, she thought sadly and miserably, maybe convince him that…well, maybe it wouldn't be _so_ bad. This from the girl that had been dedicated to spending her life single, she thought sarcastically.

She looked up when the grandfather clock struck midnight and sighed, gingerly shaking Julius. He came to sharply, sitting straight up, alarmed. Hoshiko stared at him, wide-eyed. One thing she noticed was he did not sleep heavily. Or even…normally.

"…You okay?"

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, dazed, "Sorry, I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep..."

"It's, uh, okay" she murmured before blushing, "Want to go to bed?"

"I might as well sleep on the rug" he yawned.

"We…can share the bed. It's pretty big" she insisted.

He gazed at her through sleepy red eyes before saying, "Okay."

"…Just like that, huh?" she smirked, standing.

"Hey, you offered."

She helped him up and released his arm but he didn't release hers and she squealed when he picked her up, carrying her…bride style. Turning bright red, she kicked the air.

"Julius!"

The weirdo chuckled and kneed the door open, resting her in bed then grabbing a pillow and moving to the end, "Good night, Hoshiko."

She pinked a bit and watched as he tucked himself in on the other side of the bed, his feet where his head could have been.

Hoshiko stared at him a moment before turning away on her side. What was she thinking? It…was better this way. She was more reasonable than this.

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Julius was kind of irritable as he sat on a bench, watching Hoshiko come down the mountain effortlessly. Damn him and his lack of any kind of sporting skills.

The meeting had went off without a hitch, making a killer in sales as various websites and stores wanted to stock the brand, and Hoshiko wanted to celebrate by going snowboarding. He humored her, naturally, and made a fool out of himself in the process.

She caught herself on the board, turning sideways, and looked content, unsnapping her feet after pushing up her ski goggle things, "That was so fun."

"Meh."

"You just have to practice!" she insisted.

"Yea, well, after running face first into the snow bank, I think I've humiliated myself out of trying" he mumbled.

She opened her mouth to say something else but he noted some guy busting in their direction. Not trusting him to stop, he grabbed Hoshiko's waist and pulled her forward against him quickly. She gasped, grabbing his shoulders and he growled. "What an ass."

Hoshiko flustered and the guy glanced back at them. Grunting, Julius stood, readjusting his hood.

"You ready? I think the cold and dumbassery is getting to me."

"Hey!"

Hoshiko suddenly stiffened and he cocked a brow, glancing to the owner of the voice, the guy that nearly ran her over. He looked sort of miffed but more curious.

"Don't I know you?" he questioned her suddenly.

"No" she said quickly, "Let's go, Julius."

"Wait a second! You're that chick from the party at Won's house!"

She grimaced, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The jerk-off just seemed…smug, "You're a lot less…masculine. You're actually pretty hot."

…Damn it, two in one freakin' trip?!

Hoshiko sent the guy a glare and Julius, fed up with all this, swung his arm around her waist, sending the man an annoyed look, "Yea, and she's _mine_."

" _Julius_."

To leave no question, he planted one on Hoshiko's lips and even though he meant it to be kind of…claiming, he just about got lost. She tasted like honeysuckle, he thought with an inner moan. Kind of an interesting combination, honeysuckle and wildflowers.

Hoshiko kneed him away, looking rather peeved, and the guy just snorted, "Whatever. You can keep the slut."

Hoshiko flinched like she'd been hit…and he grabbed the guy by the front of his jacket and slammed him into the ski lodge nearby, enraged.

"What the hell did you say?!"

"J-Julius!" Hoshiko blurted, grabbing his arm.

The guy laughed though winced when Julius slammed him back again, "What, she never told you? It was hilarious! One of my friends dared me to make out with a guy for five hundred pieces and I thought she was a dude so I did and found out she was a chick!"

Julius was disgusted and just threw him down, angry, and Hoshiko quickly grabbed his arm, dragging him away. She was bright red and if he didn't know any better, close to tears. Hissing, he stopped them and pulled her around to face him. Her lip was trembling and he _hated_ that.

"I-I was stupid and drunk and I didn't think he was an asshole. He was talking to me like normal and I thought-I thought he was nice..." she whimpered, wiping at her eyes to stop any tears.

Julius just dragged a hand down his face, "Hoshiko-"

"And _you_!"

His eyes widened as she seethed, "What was that kiss?!"

He crossed his arms, pursing his lips, "I was jealous, okay? I'm…sorry."

"No, you're not" she growled, starting to stalk away.

He caught her again and pulled her back, "You're right: I'm not. But I thought that's what you wanted to hear. Isn't that the feeling we agreed to?"

Hoshiko grimaced at that and looked away, "I…"

Another bench was nearby so he took her hand and led her towards it, setting her down, "…Maybe we were too fast about this. You know, the…not even trying to give it a chance."

Hoshiko laughed faintly, shaking her head as she gazed at her lap, "True, we gave up before we even tried…"

He pressed his lips together tightly before sighing, "I…still really like you, Hoshiko. And you need to know that's really hard for me to say."

She snorted, "Why? Because it's me?"

"No…because it's me" he said with a soft sigh.

She blinked at him and flushed for a moment, looking away, "I…I think I like you too."

"Think, huh?"

Hoshiko pouted, "I haven't done this before either, you!"

Julius chuckled some and pulled her close, kissing her forehead, "It's okay. C'mon, let me buy you dinner and then we can go snuggle by the fire."

She sighed but nodded. He stood and reached out, taking her hand.

Seemed way, way too easy. But it was a start. Dinner and some cuddling…

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"Nnn…"

Hoshiko lied beside him, fervently kissing his lips as he grasped her thighs, pulling her flush against him. She hugged his neck and nipped his lower lip, slowly reaching into his pants. He felt her warm cheeks as she stroked him and he moaned into her mouth.

…Yep, cuddling indeed.

"W-wait, Hoshi," he groaned, "We're supposed to take this _slow_."

"I know…" she murmured, kissing down his neck.

Sighing, he turned her over under him, surprising her and leaning down, nuzzling his nose against hers, "…I have wanted you really bad but I don't want to rush things."

Hoshiko sighed then and pulled him down, hugging his neck and kissing the side of his face, "Okay."

"…Ugh, I want you!" he nearly whined, kissing her lips hotly.

She laughed, kneeing him, "You're such a spaz! We _just_ agreed to not do it, okay?"

He pressed his lips together sourly before turning back on his side, "Without sex, what can we do?"

"Talk?"

"I don't care much for talking…" he said absently.

Hoshiko stuck out her tongue and pushed him on his back, resting her head on his chest, drawing shapes in the fabric of his shirt. "Julius, if…we're ever serious…and I'm not saying that to scare you, just, y'know, just to know, but what would you want from me?"

"Can you cosplay as Little Bo' Peep? I have to admit, it's always been one of my fantasies."

Hoshiko pinched him but snickered, "I'm serious!"

"And I'm not?" he countered before sighing, "I know what you're saying, Hoshiko, but I can't really say. I never thought I'd even attempt something like this. If I want anything I want us just to play it as it goes. Let's just not plan everything, y'know?"

She gazed at him before nodding, closing her eyes. He stared at her and awkwardly reached down, stroking her downy soft hair. Hoshiko smiled some before her eyes widened, suddenly looking alarmed. Sitting up, she stared at him wide-eyed.

"We can't tell anyone."

"Why not?" he scowled.

She rapidly shook her head, "My brothers and family would _freak_. Not to mention your aunt _hates_ me and it's inappropriate to have a relationship in the workplace."

Julius sincerely pondered over that and grumbled, "FINE. I don't like having secrets."

"I know. Can I make it up to you somehow?" she asked slowly.

Staring at her, he couldn't help the grin spreading fast on his face, "Hell yea, you can…"

Hoshiko smirked and sat up, unbuttoning her shirt, "You're as flip-floppy as ever."

Julius sat up and pulled her against him, running his hands down her back as he closed his eyes, "Maybe…"

…This felt too nice, he thought rather inattentively, kissing her silky shoulder. Nothing in his life had ever felt this good.

It almost felt…wrong.

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Roshinko Mira stared at the videos her husband was far too lazy to watch even though it was his office. She found the man trusted his workers too much.

She frowned when, on video, Julius and Hoshiko wandered into the office.

Julius had been acting strangely with that girl lately. Much too strangely, actually. It just…worried her. But she heard around the office the two didn't really get along well at all.

…Mira's red gaze grew when they climbed on top of her husband's desk with each other, the two already haphazardly dressed to begin with.

…Wait. Swiftly turning off the television, she stared at the screen blankly before her eyes narrowed.

No.

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 **Extras:**

 **Luke** is from Tree of Tranquility and Animal March, the crazy blue haired guy that has actually had the words 'she can spank me' in his game dialogue. I had a rather graphic story on my old site about him and his rather AU relationship with a girl but uh, I'll have to revamp that. In this series, he's an old friend of Jyun and Tetsuo. Mentioned in 'This Love' by Jyun as a threat to Tet's…apparently something about some hookers and a yacht XD AND Tetsuo apparently doesn't want Kotomi to know anything about it.

x Sits in a rocking chair x Well, you 'young'n's', there was a time when Harvest Moon was on the old Gameboy Color…and you know, if someone reads this and is actually like 'what is that?', I'll cry. But anywho, I can't speak for Harvest Moon GBC 1 and 2, but in 3, you can snowboard! It was laughable how bad I was at it at first but it's amazingly addictive. Course, I have NO idea where I put that game now x.x Harvest Moon GBC3 is also where I got the term 'mainland' from, fyi.


	10. Almost Easy

**Chapter 10:** Almost Easy

 **Author's Note** : I don't know how long it's been O.O But uh, yea, I got pretty depressed for a while as my childhood died last week ( **2018 Note** : Michael Jackson. This story is ancient…) DX But I finally finished this chapter.

Subliminal inspiration, ay? Works for me XD And indeed, the Yagami family tends to have epic fails when it comes to keeping secrets. We'll see how that goes XD

I think Chapter 11 and 12 will be the climax and I should be done at like…15? It's coming…soonish.

Happy reading…and oh yea, sex somewhere in there. And this comes after Chapter 9 and before Chapter 10 in 'This Love'.

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 _There was a guy…_

 _An underwater guy who controlled the sea…_

… _Got killed by ten million pounds of sludge from New York and New Jersey._

 _This monkey's gone to heaven—_

Mmm, he loved waking up to randomness.

Shimizu Julius grumbled as he tapped off her phone, wondering why she set music to wake up to, and closed his eyes again. Yagami Hoshiko lied cheek down on his chest, naked, her arms slightly wrapped around him. It felt really nice, he thought absently, stroking her back.

They'd been together for about three months now and he always woke with that feeling, that verse echoing through his head: 'it feels really nice.'

Kissing her forehead, he ran his fingers through his bangs and cocked a brow when his cell phone rang. Hoshiko whined cutely and he hushed her, rubbing her shoulder tenderly as he carefully grabbed his phone from the nightstand, clicking send and softly echoing a 'hello'.

"Julius" his aunt's voice rang clear.

"Mm, Aunt Mira? What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Where are you?" she questioned rather simply.

He glanced around before sighing, "I'm at home, why?"

"Because you're not at home" she said dryly.

Julius scowled and looked around again, feeling as if he were being watched, "…I don't know what you mean."

"We need to talk" the woman said simply, "Now. I'm at the café on the corner near your apartment."

"Aunt Mira-"

"Now, Julius" she said briskly.

Glaring at his phone as she clicked off, he cursed under his breath and slowly tried to lift Hoshiko as not to wake her.

Didn't work though. "Mm, Julius, where are you going…?" she murmured sleepily.

"I have to go meet with my aunt for a few, cutie" he cooed, kissing her lips faintly and in love with how adorable she sounded.

She pouted cutely too and grabbed her other pillow, hugging it like she'd been doing with him and grumbled after a moment, "It's not the same."

Laughing lightly, he traced his lips across her shoulder blade, "I'd hope not. I don't want to be replaced by some inactive object, especially a pillow."

Hoshiko looked at him with her sleepy brown eyes, "Don't be gone long…"

Having the desire to crawl back into bed with her and completely forget his aunt, he nodded, "Will do, bunny."

"Mm, you have such silly nicknames for me" she yawned.

"Anyone can say 'sweetie' or 'honey'" he insisted, grabbing his pants off the floor, "I'm different."

"I know."

He sulked back at her and he sighed, pulling on his shirt, "Did you want to do anything today?"

"It's up to you" she murmured, closing her eyes, "I'm up for anything…"

"Anything…?" he blinked rapidly.

Hoshiko snickered, "Go away, Julius…"

He pouted, "Okay, I see how it is. Farewell. You won't ever see me again."

"Mm, when you come back, bring some strawberries. I want some."

Julius smirked at her, "Fine."

Leaving the apartment, wandering outside, he yawned. Ugh, he'd been SO comfortable. He'd…slept well, for once. He _never_ slept well…

Glowering a little, he came to the outside café where his aunt was enjoying some beverage. Sinking down in the seat across from her, he pursed his lips. "Little early to be drinking, don't you think?"

The woman closed her eyes, "It's light."

"So why'd you wake me up on a Sunday at 9 am?" he mumbled.

She gazed at him absently for a moment, "Funny, you're usually up at seven either way. Did something keep you up last night?"

Julius stiffened and glared a bit, "Stop fooling around, Aunt Mira; Say what you need to say."

"I know about you and…Hoshiko" she said simply.

Julius stared at her plainly though inside he wondered…how? "…I don't know what you mean. What about us?"

"Oh save it, Julius" she scowled, "You're sleeping with her. I have…video evidence."

His eyes widened at this, about to demand when voyeuristic behavior became her hobby when he remembered…she looked at all the videos from his uncle's office. Cringing, he buried his face in his hands.

"…Okay, it wasn't the _smartest_ idea-"

"Not in the least" she said briskly, "And you know, I was going to go off the idea that it was just one of your passing fancies, that you'd leave her in a couple weeks. But this has been going on for months. That, my dear nephew, is unacceptable."

Julius' scarlet gaze narrowed, "I thought you wanted me to 'settle down', meet a nice girl. I mean, sure, Hoshiko is a little rough around the edges towards strangers but she's really sweet."

"My, you sound rather smitten" she said dryly, "And completely hopeless if you think you'll settle with _that_ woman."

To be completely honest, Julius wasn't very pleased with the way his aunt was addressing her. He actually kind of bristled. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You will break up with her" Mira said simply, finishing her drink.

Julius scowled and ordered an iced coffee when the waitress came by before cocking a brow at his aunt, "Do you really think you can decide that for me? Honestly? I'd decide when to end a darn relationship, not you!"

Mira leaned back and crossed her arms, staring at him, before replying, "She's rich."

"Her _family's_ rich" he amended irritably, "And what would that matter anyway? Hoshiko has been taking care of herself since college. She said she even paid her parents back for college. She's not blowing their cash or anything."

"Oh, how lovely. Doesn't change much though" she said, dry and uncaring.

"Look-"

"Do you love her?"

His eyes widened and he recoiled, stunned, gawking, " _What_?"

"Do you love her?" repeated Mira simply.

"O-of course not!" he blurted, "Y-you know me better than that!"

"Well…" Mira droned, "You at least care about her if you've been with her this long. So don't you think you're doing her a disservice, dating and wasting her time when you won't ever love her?"

Julius gaped a little and looked down, biting his lip, silent. Mira smiled knowingly, "Just make it easy on yourself, nephew. End it before one of you gets hurt…and you know that it'd most likely end up being her."

"How nice of you, aunt" he said, silent and bitter.

"But true."

"…Whatever" he muttered, "I'll…I'll break up with her soon."

"Good, good" nodded Mira, satisfied.

Julius stared at the coffee before shaking his head, slamming down his money without taking a sip, and wandering off without a word. What the hell.

…Whatever. Maybe his aunt was right; Hoshiko didn't really deserve the disservice of being with him if it just meant he was wasting her time. She…could do better.

…Just his stomach felt kind of sick when he thought of telling her 'it's over'.

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…This might be fate.

Hoshiko worked overnight shifts for the week, saying she had things to do during the day when he'd be there. Yhat irked him…and not because it would make it difficult for him to break up with her but because she wasn't there.

…That wasn't a good sign.

"But I want to go to the park Saturday" she told him over the phone.

"The park?" Perfect opportunity. There'd be witnesses in case she tried to kill him. "…All right."

"Great" she said cheerfully.

Great, huh? What was she up to? He rolled his eyes as he worked in the lonely office. Hoshiko wasn't the type for surprises. Whatever. He was kind of dreading the day but…it wouldn't matter. They just said they were going to try it. It wasn't like he was _that_ into her.

Staring at his clock on Saturday with a deep sigh, finding it was close to the time he was supposed to meet her, he stood to leave. 'Here goes', he thought slowly as he walked downstairs. Mira, with his uncle in his office, shot him a look like 'you better break up with her _now_ '. He just rolled his eyes.

Driving his car to the park, he frowned when he arrived. It was the end of summer and the weather was nice. All the children were out, playing. The wildlife even seemed to be basking. Seemed like a really horrible place to break up, he thought with a sigh. Walking forward, he blinked at a flower cart and saw the loveliest wildflowers.

…

Going along the way to where she told him to meet her, he scowled thoughtfully. Okay, what would he say? They'd tried it, it was great, but they should go back to being professional. The dates and the sex and the relationship and the whatever else were nice, but it had to end.

Looking up though, Julius' eyes widened, surprised. Hoshiko was rolling out a blanket, dressed in a light blue flowy dress that cut off at her knees, peasant at the top, and short sleeved, a darker blue ribbon pulling a portion of her wavy hair back, the rest hanging. He grimaced. No, she wasn't…that cute.

…Ugh, who was he kidding? She was _the_ cute.

She stood up straight and glanced towards him, smiling, folding her hands, "There you are."

"Hey" he smiled awkwardly, walking closer, "…What's this?"

"I thought we could have a picnic" she announced before pursing her lips, flushing, "I…uh, actually haven't been working during the day so I could get lessons on how to cook from my mom."

"…What?"

Hoshiko sighed, grabbing the picnic basket off the grass to set on the blanket, "She was _so_ ecstatic, it was ridiculous. And I've nicked and burned every finger I have but I think I did okay."

Julius just stared at her, "…You cooked? …For me?"

She stuck out her tongue, "I swear, it's edible. I had my brother Kyo try some of it first, but I remembered he'd eat _anything_ so I had my brother Jyun try it then my dad and they said it wasn't bad."

…That wasn't really the issue.

Sitting down, she waved for him to as well and he slowly joined her. Holy crap, how was he supposed to break up with her when she was so cute and had learned to cook so she could cook for him? Smiling weakly, he handed her the flowers he bought. And yea, he was buying flowers for her.

"For me?" she blinked before leaning forward and kissing him, "Thank you."

He nodded slowly and she opened the basket up, pulling out a bento. Julius frowned as he focused in on the box…and noted her hands were indeed pretty battered. Cooing, he grabbed them as something of an afterthought and kissed them tenderly.

"My poor bunny…"

…No! Breaking up with her! Hoshiko snickered and sighed, "I'm more klutzy than I thought."

She opened the bento, inside full of interesting looking foods. He swallowed as she grabbed a piece of some kind of melon with her chopsticks.

Oh damn, she was going to feed him.

Smiling weakly, he opened his mouth. And damn it, he was going to allow it! She bit her lip, "I don't think that'll be gross. I did candy it a bit though."

"It's delicious" he assured, licking the syrup off his lip.

…She had picked out all his favorite foods, he thought apprehensively. Not cool.

Hoshiko yawned and lied down on the blanket, rubbing her eyes, "I'm sleepy. I worked on this for hours."

Wincing, he picked her up by her elbows and rested her head in his lap, stroking her hair, "…Thank you. That was…sweet of you."

She blushed, looking up at him, murmuring, "No problem…"

…He didn't have it in him right now, he thought with a sigh, sitting her up so they were cuddling, and leaning backwards against the tree.

…Later.

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"Hey, uh, Hoshiko…we really need to talk" Julius smiled nervously.

"About what?" she questioned from her bedroom.

Julius tapped the arm of her couch, sucking his cheek, "Uh…stuff."

"Can it wait?" she said shyly, "I just want to get this over with."

He looked up, scowling, "Get _what_ over with?"

He gawked when she walked out, her lips pursed, her cheeks bright red. "Wh-what do you think?"

Wearing a navy blue bra with black lining and a low cut pair of matching panties and garters to sheer blue stockings with black heels…thinking was the last thing on his mind.

Hoshiko managed to get redder as she asked, "Do you like it…?"

Swiftly turning his head, he clenched his eyes shut. NOOO. He told his aunt he'd freakin' break up with her and he was going to do that! So what she was standing in front of him all…cute…and sexy…and…sex…

"Ugh! I knew it looked awful on me! Roomi was wrong!" she grumbled, looking ready to run back into the bedroom.

Awful!? Snapping his head back, he grabbed her, pulling her forward and pushed her quickly back on her couch.

"Are you _kidding_? Your midget girlfriend won't ever be more right in her life" he growled, passionately kissing her neck.

Hoshiko blushed deeply and reached up, unbuttoning his shirt, "…So…you do like it?"

"'Like it' doesn't begin to describe what I feel" he said simply, grabbing her shin. Man, maybe he _did_ have a foot fetish, he thought as he kissed her ankle.

"Ah!"

He jumped when she sat up, her eyes wide, "Oh yea! You wanted to talk about something, right?"

... "Never mind, bunny, we can talk about it later" he smiled nervously, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"But it sounds important" she frowned.

"Later" he insisted, kissing her to still the conversation.

It wasn't going to be as easy as he thought, his tongue caressing hers hotly, her hands dragging down the bare skin of his back. He moaned as she whispered dirty little words into his ear, something that got him going every time, that she was even capable of such.

…Could he…possibly…?

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'What'd I do wrong?' Hoshiko pondered sadly to herself, eating one of The Village's salads.

Her brothers were with her. Apparently they'd gotten the messages crossed and didn't think either of the other would be there…so now they were glaring at each other. She had been late but the two seemed to have had a fist fight at their cousin Carrie's baby shower. They'd both been ready to make excuses and leave today but Hoshiko insisted that they try to have lunch together. But they were pretty much only doing it because she'd requested it, she knew with a sigh…but that also wasn't what was bothering her.

Julius was kind of ignoring her.

She had thought going on a picnic would be the sweetest thing in the world…and she took it a step further and actually cooked. She _never_ cooked. Maybe he hadn't enjoyed it much…

"You have any aspirin by any chance, Hoshi? I have a monster headache" mumbled Jyun.

Kyo glowered at him and Hoshiko sighed, rolling her eyes, "I think I do."

Going through her purse, she bit her lip. What if Julius was sick of her? She wasn't really sure if she was doing anything right with him and they even had to keep the relationship a secret. Maybe it was too much for him.

She frowned when a very thick feeling fell and got the urge to look up. Cocking a brow up, she glanced at her brothers who looked…petrified, both gawking widely, eyes open big. She scowled. "What?"

Following their gaze, her heart came a millimeter from jumping out of her throat. She'd accidentally in her absent minded pondering grabbed and was holding a condom.

Face turning completely red, she blurted, "Uh-"

" _Why_ is there a condom in your purse?" demanded Kyo once any of them could find words.

"Condom…?" she said weakly.

"Yea, the thing you put on a bastard's prick so he won't knock you up" growled Jyun, glaring darkly at her, "Who is he?"

"Th-there's no one! I mean, someone probably played a joke on me at work" she insisted, her heart still in her head, "They-they make fun of me for not being with a guy!"

Kyo and Jyun glared at her menacingly for a long, long couple of uncomfortable minutes but she held her ground. Or, more correctly, her lie.

The two finally gave in and Jyun growled, snatching it from her, "So you don't get any ideas."

Hoshiko pouted, leering at him, and Kyo peeked into her purse, doing a double take, "What? One, maybe, but you have like a whole pack in there!"

"I don't know!" she lied, her heart racing again.

Kyo took the rest and they glowered at her as if their suspicion was back. Ugh.

She propped her hand in her chin and almost sighed. She thought she could talk her way around it and make it sound like casual talk to ask these two what would make a man really bored if he were in a relationship, though honestly not her best candidates for the subject either way. Seemed that'd definitely get them too riled up though, condoms in her purse were enough.

…Wait a minute, duh. Grabbing her phone, she started to text. Jyun, eating a bit of his pancake, cocked a brow, again suspicious.

"Who are you texting?"

"Your wifey" she assured.

Kyo just looked ticked and Jyun blinked rapidly, "Oh? Shopping?"

"Yea, something like that."

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"Wahh? He didn't like the lingerie?" demanded Seiwa Roomi, grabbing some drinks from her kitchen.

"No, he insisted that he _loved_ the lingerie" mumbled Hoshiko, sighing, "He's…he's just sick of me, I can feel it."

Roomi handed her a glass of misty wine looking stuff, sitting down across from her, "Well, maybe he's bored?"

Hoshiko stiffened and pouted, "Well, _thanks_."

"Being sick of and bored aren't the same thing at least" Roomi rationed, "I mean, if he was sick of you, you wouldn't have a chance. But if he's just bored then you can just spice things up and it'll be fine."

Hoshiko blinked rapidly at this, "You think so?"

"Yea! So how does he like head?" Roomi asked in that absurdly casual tone of hers.

Hoshiko pinked and stuttered, "I-I haven't done that yet."

Roomi stared at her for a moment before saying, "…What?"

"I haven't…done anything like that. I've-I've given him hand jobs?"

Roomi sipped her drink, her purple brows furrowed, "Well…this should be easy then."

Hoshiko flushed and stuck out her tongue as Roomi chuckled, "Don't worry, I have bags and bags of tricks. Just I have to say, are you sure he's 'bored'?"

"…What other reasons are there to ignore me when he hasn't before?" she frowned.

"Mm…"

…Right?

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This **SUCKED**.

He stared miserably at his desk and shook his head. Why? Why'd this have to happen? Why'd this random chick come along and make him just…nuts about her?

Julius tried to ignore or spend time away from her but when he was at home in bed alone, he felt freakin' lonely. And tired. So tired, he couldn't sleep. He didn't even know how that made sense but that was how it could be described. He could smell her scent in his pillow and he could taste her when he licked his lips. It got him so aroused and increasingly lonely. He craved waking up next to her, making breakfast for them, and spending a whole day just curled up on the couch, watching movies.

…God, he actually _liked_ this relationship!

With a grimace, he glowered as his aunt randomly stormed into his office, looking bitter and angry but content.

"I guess I can't expect you to do this by yourself when you're alone with her. Actions confuse things" she said briskly, "That's why I called her and invited her to dinner with your Uncle Eo and I."

Julius stared at her before it hit him like a quarter ton of bricks. Flying to his feet, he gaped, "What?"

"Of course, you'll be there and happen to break the news."

"The hell I will!"

"Julius!" 

They both jumped when there was a knock at the door. He grimaced at Hoshiko who looked nervous.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?"

"No, no, dear" Mira assured, "Julius was just making a _promise._ Right, honey?"

"…Sure" he muttered miserably.

Hoshiko blinked and Mira smiled, crossing her arms, "Well, let's head out, we don't want to be late."

The woman walked forward and Julius, feeling pressured and irritated and spiteful, grabbed Hoshiko's arm and kissed her. She seemed alarmed and elbowed him hard when he pulled away, looking toward his aunt's back. He just shrugged.

Eo appeared confused that Hoshiko was there but greeted her happily, just because he was that kind of guy. Why couldn't he have married that kind of woman? Julius grumbled.

When they arrived, his stupid aunt made him sit across from Hoshiko rather than beside her. He wondered if she wanted him to break up with Hoshiko before dinner was ordered so they could save money, he thought cynically.

Seemed not though as they ordered and Mira chattered on and on. Hoshiko bit her lip and glanced at him as he stabbed at his salad. Yea…pretty hella' awkward. And, well, he was pretty much just ignoring her existence and they were now having dinner with his pretty much parents.

…She really did deserve better.

"Julius! You've barely spoken to Hoshiko" his aunt stated rather pointedly.

He sent her a sulky look and his uncle frowned, "Ah, are you two getting along?"

"I think so" Hoshiko said slowly.

Julius slightly winced at that before clearing his throat, "We, naturally, have our moments but we're cool."

"Good, good" Eo said, almost painfully oblivious.

Mira was less than pleased about this statement though. "Oh, naturally…but wasn't there something you wanted to _tell_ Hoshiko, dear?"

If the ground could open up and swallow him at that second, he would have preferred it to telling her. Or better yet, opening up and swallowing his aunt. Hoshiko looked at him quizzically and he smiled brightly, "Not that I know of."

His aunt kicked his chair underneath the table cloth and he sighed, "Well, maybe…"

Hoshiko blinked and he opened his mouth, trying to state this without causing either a scene or suspicion in his uncle. It was rather hard to create such a sentence however.

His brain froze though when he felt something pressing against his crotch. Eyes widening, he realized…was that her foot?

Staring at her, not really flustering or anything like she usually did if she did something rather sexual like that, he opened his mouth, trying to reform what he was going to say. Maybe she was just setting her bare foot there?

He clenched the table cloth though when she unzipped with her toes rather skillfully. Or…maybe she wasn't…?

He bit the inside of his mouth as she softly ran her foot up and down against his covered length. What…was she doing? If his Aunt Mira had _any_ idea she was doing this right now…

"Julius" the woman said rather firmly, breaking him out of his daze.

"Oh yea!" he blurted loudly, "Um, I…"

…Need to punish you for doing this right now, he thought, his eyes closing partially as she managed to remove him from his boxers, running her almost cotton soft feet down his shaft. He breathed faintly as she gently used the ball of her foot to caress the base.

"Julius, don't you think it's rude to break off a sentence like that?" hissed Mira.

Again, thinking wasn't his forte when he was aroused. He forced his eyes open wide and cleared his throat. Okay, what…was he saying?

…Oh screw it, he didn't care.

His aunt glared as he probably got all google eyed… "JULI-"

Hoshiko's frowned as she held up a finger, looking at her smartphone, "One moment, my apologies. I have to take this call."

Mira looked unhappy but Eo nodded understandably as she walked over to the lobby. If looks could kill, Julius smiled nervously as he tried to smoothly 'redress'. He frowned when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Sipping his tea, cautiously avoiding his aunt's glare, he secretly glanced at the phone. He smiled slightly, the corners of his lips raising a bit. Hoshiko had text him: 'I'm going to leave. It's up to you whether you want to follow'.

She returned and frowned, putting down a wad of money and bowing "Sorry, it's rude of me to eat and run but I have to go check on something with my parents. Thank you for inviting me to dinner."

Mira looked extremely alarmed that her plan was falling apart, "W-wait, don't you want dessert, dear?"

"Oh, no thank you" smiled Hoshiko, "I'll see you all later."

She walked away and Julius watched after her absently as his aunt seethed, probably fighting the desire to throttle him. His uncle, wonderfully oblivious man he was, commented, "She's a nice girl."

"Yea" agreed Julius amiably.

Mira glared at him and he sighed, shrugging, "Aunt Mira…forcing me into this is not going to make me want to do it. I'll…do it when it feels right, okay? And if that takes a few weeks, just get off me. You're not going to force my hand."

Eo looked puzzled but Mira crossed her arms, muttering, as he stood. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I'm going to go…nap."

Right.

Leaving quickly to avoid anything happening, he made the short, though rather long because of his 'predicament', trip to Hoshiko's apartment. When he arrived, he opened the door wordlessly, finding the woman sitting on her couch, waiting.

"So I'm torn on spanking you then screwing the hell out of you or jumping straight to the screwing" he stated plainly.

She snorted and stood, her arms crossed, "Before _any_ of that happens, I want to know what the deal is?"

"What?" he frowned, shifting his gaze.

"You're _ignoring_ me" she scowled, her arms on her hips now before her gaze pointed down, "…Are you sick of me?"

"Of course not!" he blurted in a manner surprisingly similar to denying that he loved her to his aunt.

She just sighed and he walked over to her, grasping her hands, "I'm sorry…I haven't really meant to seem like I've been avoiding you. I've just been going over things in my head."

Hoshiko pouted, "…Okay."

He cooed, leaning over to kiss her neck, her fragrance overtaking, "Don't look so cute, you kink. I never imagined getting a footjob from you…ever."

She pursed her lips, "I thought you were bored."

"Never."

She snorted and had him sit, "You sure?"

"Positive."

"…Okay, but I still kind of want to try it now."

He cocked a brow and gawked as she suddenly unzipped his pants and went down on him. Moaning, closing his eyes, he allowed the feeling to take over…

…This wasn't going to be easy at all.

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"Julius…"

"Yes, kitten?"

Hoshiko was curled around him, something he greatly preferred to his lonely state, and he rubbed her pale back, kissing her shoulder as they lied on their sides. She snuggled into his chest, her eyes closed.

"…Your aunt was way strongly hinting at something tonight, wasn't she?"

"…Don't worry about it" he muttered.

Hoshiko frowned, her brown eyes opening, "No, what is it?"

He looked forward for a moment before gazing down at her, "…She wants me to break up with you."

Her eyes widened as she sat up, pulling away from him, covering her body with the sheet and staring at him, "…What?"

"Don't worry, I…I'll deal with her somehow" he mumbled, rubbing his brow, "…I'll…be honest, I was going to humor her."

He grimaced at the hurt expression on her face and quickly sat up, "It has nothing to do with you, I promise."

"Of course it does!" she snapped, "'You were going to humor her'. What the hell does that say about how you feel about me!?"

Julius frowned as she climbed out of bed, stomping around angrily, "…But I didn't."

She paused and glared back at him as he sighed, "You…don't really understand, Hoshi. My…aunt has gone above and beyond for me. I'm…I'm not even her child but…"

"Can she hold that over your head though?" she demanded reluctantly.

"…I suppose she shouldn't" he agreed, "But…I'd feel bad."

Hoshiko stared at him before shaking her head, "…So you want to end it, is that what you're saying?"

Julius climbed from the bed, grasping her waist and pulling her backwards as he sat, "…No, I don't."

She frowned and he rested his head against her, "I…I don't. She…she can't make me."

Hoshiko frowned more. "But…you sound like you're worried."

"Of course I am" he laughed humorlessly, "I don't know what I'd do if…"

Pausing, he shook his head, "It'd…just be bad to defy her. And yet, I want to because I want you. You're my bunny."

She pinked and kissed the top of his head, "…I want you to do what feels right. I…I won't hold it against you."

He pulled back and sulked, "Of course you would. You'd kill me."

"Perhaps" she allowed with a smile, "But I don't know your situation with your aunt and…and it may be deeper than I know. So…you do what feels best."

He stared at her, "…My situation."

…His situation was something he barely wanted to know, admittedly. His situation made it hard to trust, made him dislike women, made him…crazy. He _hated_ being controlled, he thought, clenching his eyes shut.

"…Julius?" murmured Hoshiko softly.

"…Let's just…try to be insanely closeted about it for a while. She apparently stalks me so we'd have to be at my house. We…really couldn't go out anywhere and we probably couldn't talk at work."

"That doesn't sound like a relationship at all…" she mumbled.

Julius pulled her back into bed, grabbing her sheets to cover them, "I know…and you deserve much better. But…just for a little while. I'm…I don't want to give you up."

Hoshiko was silent for a long few moments before murmuring, "…Fine."

Relieved, he hugged her tight, kissing her forehead, "I promise it…it won't be forever."

…Or would it?

…This wasn't easy whatsoever.

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(X) Alarm clock song at the beginning is by The Pixies, 'Monkey Gone To Heaven'.


	11. Leave Me This Way

**Chapter 11:** Leave Me This Way

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews…and yea, I do kind of play that overbearing relative's angle a lot. But hopefully this chapter will explain that better, as will the next. There are dark themes in this one so tread softly if you're sensitive to the subject of suicide.

Um, what else…ah yes, I have officially lost track of how this lines up with 'This Love' n.n; Going back and counting the months, I'm admittedly a little puzzled. Hoshiko started at RD before Jyun started at Kikanki which is kind of getting me the most…I think that really, the part where Roomi thought she was pregnant has passed and I definitely wanted that to line up, ugh. Well, whatever the case may be, it will be properly fixed in final edits.

There are some pretty bombshell and simple hints in this for how the climax is going to go…sort of, but not really. At least an aspect of the climax anyway. You'll have to remember some things from 'This Love'…

Speaking of 'This Love', on my Deviant Art, I have posted a picture of Jyun, Roomi, Kamon, and Fujiwako at one of the latter's famed tea parties. They're an adorable family n.n I hope to have the picture I'm drawing of Carrie and Kurt up soon too…I was a little disappointed that the point in Leave Out All the Rest I reffed, she'd be a brunette but I'll have her blondness up soon…

Enough of my notorious rambling, enjoy.

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"She's doing this on purpose" Shimizu Julius thought angrily.

Yagami Hoshiko and her other girlfriend, Candy, were chatting and giggling and _flirting_ with the new guys…

Hoshiko and he had gotten into a bit of a tiff earlier about her giving him a kiss when she shut the door. He was a little wary, thinking his aunt might have been crazy enough to bug the joint. She insisted he was being ridiculous and he insisted he wasn't. She knew that had to be in the privacy of…his house. Only his house.

She was increasingly miffed, stating that she was like his dirty slutty secret. He assured her that he didn't think that at all nor was it what was going on here. She gave him that sad look that broke him to pieces before slamming down at her desk and quietly working. His aunt did come in for a visit and Hoshiko's upset probably depicted the lie he'd told Mira about them breaking up wonderfully. Too bad it made him feel like absolute scum.

Course, now she was laughing and giggling with Hiro and his bumbling buddy Fumino to piss him off…

"She's mine. Mine, mine, mine" he whined irritably in his head.

He slumped after a moment though. Course, if this kept up she might be Hiro's. Hiro, Hiro, Hiro…

Hoshiko wandered back into the office and sniffed, staying away from him. He growled, standing, "Hoshi-"

"You shouldn't talk to me at work, it might be suspicious" she spat sarcastically.

He gave her a look, "Hoshiko."

"I'm going with Candy and some other coworkers to have some drinks after work so I won't be coming over."

Julius stuffed his hands in his pockets, his eyes narrowing, "I haven't been able to spend any time with you all week and, finally, when we both have time, you're going to get spiteful on me?"

He expected some snippy remark or 'yea, sounds about right'…but she gave him a rather unhappy look that managed to make him feel like an asshole. Wincing, he scratched the back of his neck. "…I mean, if you want to go-"

"That's not it" she mumbled, "You think I'm being spiteful. Well, I'm not. I'm just…just sick of this. I didn't think I'd ever have a relationship honestly, Julius, but I _definitely_ didn't think if I had one it'd be like this, where my boyfriend has to pretend we're broken up to appease his aunt and we can't risk going anywhere or even go to _my_ apartment! I'm…I'm sick of it. I just want us to be normal. I want to go to the movies and out to eat and-and be a _normal_ couple, not secret agent pretend we're not together."

He buried his face in his hands, "…It…just can't be that way right now, Hoshiko."

"And when is it going to change?" she demanded, "Your Aunt apparently hates me a lot, y'know? Why's that going to change?"

"Hoshiko-"

"Maybe I should quit" she mumbled.

Julius growled, " _Hoshiko_."

"Why are you yelling at my Hoshiko, you drag queen hussy?"

Julius' eyes narrowed even more, shaking his head. This day could only get better now. Her attack midget was here which meant he'd hit rock bottom. Hoshiko frowned at Seiwa Roomi, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood" the purpled haired woman sighed, holding RD bags, "That Hiro fellow is rather hot, honey, you need to look into that."

Julius seethed and they both traded glares, "I mean, I'm sure Hiro wouldn't be whipped enough to let someone decide who he could see and have the balls to stick up for his girlfriend."

"I bet you'd know, you've probably done everyone in this office" he snarled.

" _Guys_!" Hoshiko groaned.

"Well if you were a _real_ man and actually _care_ about her then you'd actually care that you're hurting her!"

"Of course I care! Don't you think I know that?!"

"If you knew, then you'd _do_ something about it! Get your head out of the sand, asshole, no woman's going to wait around forever playing f—king games with you."

Roomi grabbed Hoshiko's wrist and tugged her out of the office. Julius stood there, utterly miserable. That stupid bitch-

…Was absolutely right.

Slamming down at his desk, he clutched his ears. What was he doing…? Hoshiko's first relationship and…it was like this.

…

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"Roomi, for God's sake, you didn't have to yell at him like that!"

Roomi crossed her arms as she slammed down at the bench in the café at RD, "This is your first ever relationship, right?"

"…Yea."

"First ever relationships aren't supposed to be smokescreens and riddles and pulling ninja tricks to be able to actually spend time together" Roomi shook her head.

"…Don't you think if I didn't really wanted to, I'd break up with him?" she mumbled, twisting a paper napkin.

Roomi sighed again and looked away, "I know. But I just don't want you to fall into the same trap I have and just be perpetually unhappy."

Hoshiko gave her a knowing look, "Just tell Jyun how you feel. I don't know what his reaction would be but I know you can't stand keeping things to yourself."

Roomi laughed shortly, "Yea, seriously. This is the one time though that…I can't bring myself to do that."

Somewhere along, her companion seemed to have fallen deeply in love with her brother, of all people. Hoshiko didn't know what to tell her on that one. At least her problem actually wasn't that complicated in retrospect. If Jyun found out Roomi loved him, he'd probably never want to see her again, jerk that he was. Of course that meant that Roomi had to act as if everything was normal.

…But then, Roomi had oddly ended up at one of their family dinner nights and her eldest brother weirdly seemed content to snuggle with her. And in front of people, at that! It was just so weird!

So she had to play secret agent with Julius in order to peacefully be with him and Roomi couldn't tell Jyun her feelings in risk of him just…ending everything. Maybe. They came to one conclusion…

"…Men" they sighed in unison.

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… _It was cold._

 _Wrapped up in his Transformers blanket, he gazed up, shivering a bit. He was a bit confused to find…_

… _His mother._

 _She sat by his window, her purple hair reflecting in the moonlight, her red eyes unreadable. She was smoking again, something he hated without knowing the side effects. It smelled funny was about the extent of what he knew then._

 _Plucking the butt out of the window, she walked back over to him and sat on the edge of his bed, covering him back up. He frowned up at her as she tucked him in._

" _Mama, I'm cold" he informed._

" _It's just the window was open" she said monotonously._

 _He wasn't so sure…but she smoothed back his hair, kissing him tenderly on the forehead. He blinked up at her as she whispered._

" _A part of you will always be with me, okay? I love you."_

 _Julius stared at her, puzzled, as she stood and closed the door, enveloping him in darkness except for the street lamps outside the small window._

 _In his consciousness, he moaned 'no' for it to stop. He couldn't live this again._

 _But it played out like a movie, an awful horrid movie that had no pause or stop. He had to pee, he remembered, and he opened the door, the light in the hallway overtaking his eyes for a bit._

 _His throat tightened as the boy version of himself stared, confused, at the doorway in the kitchen._

 _She just…hung there…_

" _Mama, what are you doing?" he asked, painfully naïve._

 _She just…hung there…_

 _Whatever force of motion made her swing around towards him…and her face…God, he'd never forget that._

 _But like the nightmare it was, it wasn't complete until she said: "Julius…go back to bed."_

Julius' eyes popped open and he screamed, soaked in layers of sweat, his body stiff with horror, jumping straight up and clenching his throat as it felt like it was closing. Curling up into a tight ball, he rocked and rasped. He sniffed and sobbed, tears soaking his face in streams. He…he couldn't breathe…

He grabbed his phone, his hand shaking violently as he pressed 'send' without dialing, falling over to his side as he still tried to force breaths.

It rang for a while but at about the last ring, a sleepy voice answered, "Julius…? What's wrong? It's 3 am..."

His lips were dry as he choked, "P-please…help-"

He could tell he alarmed her as he heard the bed creak loudly, "What? Are you okay? What's wrong!?"

He coughed violently, flashes and flashes of that horrible scene continuously running through his head. He couldn't breathe, he sobbed in an incomprehensible whisper.

The line went dead and he winced. Figured. Everyone was always the same, he realized as his head started to clear up a bit. Slowly, his throat started to open again and he could breathe evenly.

Able to come to his feet, though wobbly, he frowned when there was rapid ringing at his door. Slumping and weakly limping towards the entrance, he opened it and found Hoshiko there, panting. Grimacing, he swallowed, covering his eyes with his hand, and mumbled.

"S-sorry, false alarm…"

"Are you kidding?" she demanded, pulling his hand away and grasping his cheeks, "You look awful! What happened? Let me call an ambulance!"

"No!" he blurted, grabbing her wrist, "It-it's _nothing_ , Hoshiko. I'm-I'm sorry I woke you. It always passes, I just…freaked."

He slammed down on his couch and gaped a little, still a sweaty mess, his face sticky and tear stained. Hoshiko stared at him helplessly before rushing to his bathroom. She returned with a cool wash cloth and sat face forward in his lap and pressed it against his burning face. It was pretty relieving, he thought faintly. And…it was relieving that she was here too.

"I'm sorry" she murmured, "My-my stupid phone died _again_ in a situation and-and I just drove over here as fast as I could."

He shook his head, "I didn't mean to scare you like that…"

She frowned, setting the washcloth down and staring at him, "What's wrong?"

"…It was just an anxiety attack" he admitted.

Hoshiko stared at him more and hugged his neck loosely, "…Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

"Positive" he murmured, resting his face against her neck.

"What was it over?" Hoshiko frowned, pulling away.

He shifted his gaze in the other direction, "Nothing."

"It wasn't about nothing!" she scowled, "What was it?"

" _Nothing_ , Hoshiko!" he snarled, setting her down on the sofa to go and pace.

She flew to her feet, "You don't have to lock me out, y'know? I don't know why it kills you so but I do actually care about you."

Pausing, he clenched his forehead, taking a deep breath before muttering, "You…shouldn't. I'm crazy."

"What are you on about?" she asked gently, coming near him.

He stared at the closed doors of the shelves in front of him. He'd been fighting it all day. All damn day, he swore he wouldn't. He wouldn't…and _she_ comes after him in a dream like that because he refused. He _hated_ her.

Walking forward numbly, he opened up the doors on the shelf area near his television. Hoshiko gasped faintly.

It was a little shrine. He hadn't been the one to set it up. His aunt had, insisting he had to be respectful. He'd rather she just disappear.

Grabbing a lighter that was inside of it, in fact, the same lighter she used to light her cigarettes, he lit the incense burners around her picture, a picture of her laughing and happy. A _lie._

"When I was five, my mother killed herself. Today is the anniversary."

Hoshiko was silent before whispering, "Julius…"

"She wasn't dead right away, I think. She hung herself" he said plainly, "I…I don't really remember but I think she told me something. I was so dumb, y'know? I sat beside her for at least three days before someone came and found us. I-I tried to give her food and…and talk to her and…"

He bit his lip, having decided long ago that he wouldn't cry about this ever again but yet, he always did. He just didn't want to cry in front of Hoshiko. Stroking his hair back away from his face with one hand, he cleared his throat. "My Aunt Mira and my mother weren't actually on speaking terms because of…me."

"…Why?" she asked softly.

"…My mother was a secretary for this like…assistant CEO or something. His wife was away a lot or something and Aunt Mira had said mum told her they…clicked" he scowled, "…They had a brief affair and…I was the result. But…the guy already had a family. My mother thought she could get him to leave them but…understandably, she couldn't."

He stared at the softly billowing smoke and murmured, "My aunt thought the man needed to be called out. His life would have been a wreck if…she'd just informed everyone. My mother didn't think so…so they argued about it and weren't talking most of my life. Aunt Mira was crushed when she learned about her committing suicide and them having ended on a bad note. I think they were going to put me in the system but my aunt demanded custody."

Turning to finally face her, finding her staring at him attentively, Julius pursed his lips, "…I feel like…I owe a lot to her, y'know? She paid for five years of art school, the _best_ art school. And hell, she RAISED me. But…"

He walked towards his recliner and sank down, slumping, "You…your parents never made you feel like you owed them anything, did they?"

Hoshiko frowned and walked over to him, sinking down on the arm, "Not…really? My dad extremely hated when I paid him back in full for college. He said he felt it was his duty as a parent to make sure I got a complete education, that he wasn't looking for a hand out. But I insisted, because…well, I felt like I owed it to them. It wasn't like that was cheap, y'know? And that was their well-earned money, so…"

He nodded and stared at his lap, "The difference is she always made me feel like I did owe her. That…if it weren't for her, I'd be living out on the street or dead or something. And hell, she could be right."

"But she took the duty of raising you" Hoshiko insisted, "You didn't ask her to. Being a parent is a thankless job and she shouldn't hold anything against…"

Julius just sighed miserably and Hoshiko bit her lip, "…Can I ask you something though?"

"Sure…"

She looked anxious before shaking her head, "Never mind."

"No" he sighed again, "I'm sure you have questions."

He hadn't realized it but he'd just told her his pretty much life story. That wasn't like him. It was rather disconcerting. But she looked at him cautiously.

"…Do you not…trust women because of…this?"

He paused and glanced at her, rather surprised before he shrugged awkwardly, "Well…yea. My…mom just made promises, y'know? We weren't rich when she was alive. She quit her job as a secretary, pretty much convinced my father would come back to us and just scraped by on temp jobs. But…she promised he'd come, that we wouldn't really struggle anymore. Little stuff…"

He tilted his head and smiled sadly, "…She promised she loved me. And I can't really to this day understand how that could be possibly true if she had to kill herself, that she even killed herself with her son in the house. I…I don't…trust…"

Hoshiko bit her lip and rested her chin on his shoulder, "…I can't understand a mother who'd do that to their child. I'm…sorry if that offends you. But…I don't know if I'd be able to forgive her either."

Julius nodded, melancholy, turning his face to kiss her, "…I'm…glad you understand that. I've met a lot of people that don't understand why I'm angry with her."

She shook her head, "You have the right to feel anything you want."

Feeling warm, he hugged her tightly. He felt…so much better, he thought weirdly. He probably would have just stayed up all night and popped sleeping pills if she hadn't come over. Swallowing, he buried his face into her shoulder. She hadn't left him. She was impatient with this whole 'you have to pretend to not be my girlfriend around people' and rightfully so…but she was still here. She…she hadn't left him.

…Maybe he could actually trust Hoshiko. He…he had never felt that with any other woman. And his aunt wanted to split them apart. Gritting his teeth, he grumbled:

"You're damn right I do."

She blinked and pulled away to gaze at him and he scowled, "As of tomorrow, you're my damn girlfriend. We're going to go to movies, we're going to go out to eat, we'll have a _choice_ between our places. I'm not going to let her run the show. I'll even pay her back like you did with your parents. 'Course, it might…take a while, but still!"

She smiled some, "You don't have to do that, baby."

"Of course I do" he muttered, "I hate being controlled."

"Aww, but I kind of like being dominant from time to time…" she echoed absently.

"Well, _you_ can because usually it involves me being pleasured" he assured, hugging her waist even tighter, "And anything that aids in my pleasure…"

She snorted and snuggled with him, "…Are you feeling better?"

"I feel fine, kitten. A lot finer than I usually feel after that dream…"

"Good…" she murmured, "You didn't sound like…you on the phone. It scared me."

He grimaced and sighed, picking her up, "…It…won't happen again."

Hoshiko scowled and hugged him tighter, "Idiot. I want you to call me if you need me. I…just want to fight you having to feel like that again, if I can."

His heart kind of skipped at that and he pinked, sighing, "…I don't think anyone's wanted to 'fight' anything for me…but thank you."

He started to rest her in his bed but remembered he probably sweat off ten pounds in it. Disgusted, he peeled off the sheets after setting her on the chair, tossing them into a neat pile and grabbing his maroon sheets.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" he asked, tucking the mattress sheet first.

"Watch a movie here?" she yawned.

"That's _private_. We're sticking it to my aunt by doing _public_ " he pointed out.

She laughed tiredly, "I don't know then. I'm out of practice with planning public things."

He yawned, shifting his pillows down in their cases, "I guess I am pretty exhausted to plan something coherent…"

"Mm…"

"…So Hoshi, I'm going to tell my aunt about you and not caring whether she decides to disown me" he remarked smoothly, "Will you tell your parents and brothers about me?"

Hoshiko was silent before laughing nervously. He glanced back at her and sulked, "What?"

"Not saying this to freak you out or anything but that'd probably only happen if we were engaged."

He pouted, "You almost sound ashamed of me. I swear, I'd leave the pink striped jacket at home."

She giggled, "I'm not ashamed of you, Julius, my father and brothers are just nuts. They'd probably beat you up."

"You neglect to tell me your family's the mafia?" he smirked sarcastically, spreading the sheet.

She just smiled rather anxiously and his eyes widened after a moment, "…Uh…they're…not, right?"

"Of course not" she assured before coughing, "They just…have a lot of power."

He stared at her and she swung her legs, shifting her gaze, "Um, remember Hoji looking like he got mauled by tigers?"

Julius brows fused but he nodded slowly as she looked upward, "…Yea, my…dad and his twin brother, my uncle, they…kind of did that."

"…What?"

"Yea, my Uncle Shin actually works in law enforcement when he's not on active military assignments and he allowed them to pass by security to…beat the crap out of him" she laughed airily, coughing again, "Just don't tell anyone."

…He went to Hoji's trial with Hoshiko since she apparently didn't tell anyone but her dad about the attempted rape. Hoji looked like he was horrified by his own shadow and just about peed himself when a chair creaked in the court room.

Well, Julius _definitely_ felt he deserved anything he got but somehow, knowing his girlfriend's family was responsible for invoking that kind of fear in someone was a tad intimidating. Staring at her blankly for a long couple of moments, he finally smiled and patted the bed.

"…Well, I guess we can wait on that then."

He wasn't sure he was ready to meet the Corleone family yet.

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People had tough lives, didn't they?

Hoshiko opened her eyes faintly, glancing at Julius' alarm clock and sighed. Did she ever think her boyfriend had such a difficult thing occur in his life? No…

It kind of made more sense, his behavior before. His mother had lied and then killed herself pretty much right in front of him. His aunt made it so that he felt like he owed her for his entire life.

…Why should he trust her?

Sighing, sitting up and rubbing the back of her neck, she glanced to where Julius had been and shook her head. And he was awake. She always noted he was an extremely light sleeper. She wondered if that had something to do with his mother's death as well. She died when he was asleep…

Wandering into the main area, she blinked when she found him cooking, singing loudly.

"You don't have to be rich to be my girl, you don't have to be cool to rule my world. Ain't no particular sign I'm compatible with. I just want your extra time and your kiss!" he sang, adding the loud smacking sounds in before 'kiss'.

She smiled softly. She had the most flamboyant boyfriend in the universe. Roomi had questioned curiously wasn't she worried that, well, he'd suddenly come out of the closet? She'd never really known a man comfortable enough to wear a cheetah print pair of pants…

Hoshiko had flushed, coughing, " _Well…I mean, gay guys don't usually get aroused if they're having sex with a woman, right?"_

 _Roomi seemed to ponder this, "I suppose…"_

…Well, he could be bisexual perhaps. Either way. He just was extremely comfortable with himself. That was…cute.

"Ah, good morning, kitten" he said when he noticed her, setting down his spatula and walking over to her.

"Morning…" she frowned, glancing at the clock that read 12 p.m.

"We'll just say it's morning" he replied simply, leaning down to kiss her chastely on the lips.

"Okay" she smiled.

"You were sleeping like a log, cutie. Were you comfortable?" he frowned.

Hoshiko nodded and wandered over to the stove to stare at the food. She'd kind of wanted to make breakfast for him. Her mother had taught her how to make omelets recently.

"I…I don't know, I guess I was tired" she laughed nervously.

She blushed as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the back of her neck, "Mm, me too…"

Hoshiko bit her lip, "You…had more reason to be."

He stilled his movement for a moment before murmuring, "I was thinking about what you said last night, about how I have the right to feel what I want to. And for some reason, I had to wonder if…if maybe my anger is expired."

She turned her head to look at him curiously and he gazed at the hood of the oven before him absently, "I…It's been over eighteen years, y'know?"

Hoshiko squeezed his hand, "Maybe it would help you deal better if you could forgive her. But…I know that's easier said than done. I feel a little upset myself that-that a mother could do that to her child, to just…leave them. I-I don't think I'd be able to just do that, especially with my child in the next room. I'd…I don't know."

Julius was quiet for a moment before giving her belly a little rub, "You'll be a good mommy to our baby."

She snickered, flushing, "What baby?"

"Our baby, silly" he purred, kissing her cheek.

"I do believe I'm about five months late but eh" she snickered.

He held her tightly, "…It has been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yea…" she murmured, "I've barely noticed."

Julius was quiet before squeezing her tight, "…I…uh…"

She frowned and turned around to face him. Blinking at his rather profoundly red face, she cocked a brow, "What is it?"

"…I'm-"

Hoshiko cocked a brow as she saw him visibly swallow, "I…I'm _so_ not good at this type of thing, Hosh, it's ridiculous."

"What kind of thing?" she questioned curiously.

"…This."

Hugging her waist, he pressed his lips against the side of her face near her ear and whispered, "…I love you."

Hoshiko's heart skipped a few beats as she pinked, stunned. "Really…?"

"Yea…" he mumbled sheepishly before blurting, "And I don't want you to say it just because I have, okay?"

"What if I mean it?" she asked shyly.

He stared at her wide-eyed and she smiled some, "I love you too."

Julius stared at her before laughing. She pouted, "What! I didn't laugh at you!"

"I'm sorry, bunny" he chuckled, pulling her against his chest, "It's just imagining us a year ago."

Hoshiko blinked before laughing herself, "Yea, times have definitely changed. Would you freak if I cut my hair like that again?"

"I'd have a near aneurysm" he said plainly.

She snickered but he kissed her forehead, "But then, I think I could live with it. You're still my kitten underneath it all."

…For some reason, she was taken back to that stone back in the caves of Mineral. She appreciated that stone for what it was. It wouldn't really have mattered what it'd look like, she'd be fond of it. Hoshiko tugged him down to give him a kiss on the lips. And she'd found the guy that felt the same thing about her.

"Julius, I promise, no matter what happens, that…I'll be here as long as you have me" she murmured.

"Silly…" he sighed, "You're different. I'm not going to give you up. You're…the first woman."

She felt assured in that…

But somehow things just didn't always work out that way, it seemed.

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The Corleone family is a reference to the movie The Godfather…this is the Italian mafia family. And y'know, the Yagami are kind of intensely violent from time to time …

I don't own Prince's 'Kiss' song…


	12. Three Best Bad Things

**Chapter 12:** Three Best Bad Things

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews and numerous adds. One thing that needs to be remembered about Nelly is that he comes in a set. If some ass-kicking needs to be done, Koji will be there, and vice-versa XD. At least planned ass-kicking…SAT? I suggest more than anything…gum.

Fan!

See ya soon.

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Two years. Almost, anyway.

" _Hoshi-i-i-i!" whined a miserable Roomi over the phone._

 _Hoshiko sat at work, her legs propped up on the table and her sketchpad leaning against her knees, smirking at Julius who was throwing rose petals at her from his desk…and failing. "Yea, Roo? And YOU, you're just making a mess, stop it!"_

" _Now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the gray!" he sang, continuing to throw the petals into the center of the floor in front of them._

"… _Your boyfriend's an idiot" mumbled Roomi._

" _Ay, tell her to shut up" grunted Julius._

 _Hoshiko cocked a brow at him, "Can you hear her?"_

" _No, but I know that midget."_

 _Roomi grunted in response and Hoshiko rolled her eyes, "What's wrong, Roomi?"_

" _I was so stupid" she sobbed, "I-I think…"_

 _Hoshiko frowned, "What? You think what?"_

" _I'm pregnant" she whispered, "With Jyun's baby."_

 _Yagami Hoshiko nearly jumped a mile but forgot that she was kind of resting her legs on the table and ended up falling backwards and tumbling to the floor._

" _Bunny?" Julius echoed, alarmed._

 _Hoshiko jumped to her feet, her cheeks flustered with embarrassment and HORROR. "WHAT did you just say?!"_

 _Roomi sniveled, "I think I'm pregnant. I'm late and-and I changed birth control pills and-and I'm going to have Jyun's bab-b-y!"_

 _Hoshiko just gaped and felt like she'd been smacked in the face. Jyun…baby? Her brother…a father?_

… _WHAT?_

" _ARE you SURE?" demanded Hoshiko, not sure if she could actually handle that._

" _No…" she murmured._

 _Hoshiko scowled, "Whaddya mean 'no'? Haven't you taken the test?!"_

" _N-no…"_

 _Slapping a hand over her face, she grumbled, "Where are you?"_

" _Jyun's apartment…"_

" _I'll be right there" Hoshiko muttered, "Don't go anywhere."_

" _Kay…"_

 _Julius cocked a brow at her when she clicked off. She glanced at him and smiled, "I'll be back in a bit, sweetie."_

 _She wouldn't tell him why. He'd never let 'the midget' live it down. Ugh, leave it to those two to not think clearly. Hell, if they thought clearly they wouldn't have to be thinking clearly about this…if that made any sense. But whatever! Hoshiko grumbled as she went into the pharmacy and asked for an efficient pregnancy test. Her friend was a baka!_

 _Arriving at Jyun's apartment, she knocked and Roomi answered, looking glum. Hoshiko sighed, shaking her head. They didn't have to get upset…YET. This could very well be a false alarm._

" _Why can't you two think clearly? I mean, my God" she questioned, pushing past Roomi into the apartment._

' _Mom' whined, "Hoshiko…"_

 _Hoshiko sighed again and handed her the bag, "Here, go…do what you do with that, and we'll get a clear, concise answer. There's no reason for you to fly off the handle if you don't know if you're even pregnant."_

" _W-what if I am though?" the shorter woman asked wearily._

" _Well, you'll definitely make my mother happy" sighed Hoshiko for the third time, sitting on the couch, "Now…c'mon, let's get this going."_

 _And she'd be an aunt. Honestly, with those two siblings of hers, she'd never expected to be an 'Aunt Hoshiko'. But, then again, with those two she should have expected to be an aunt. Those idiots._

 _The minute and a half was kind of nerve wracking but in that minute, she pondered where her brother was. He probably absolutely freaked and ran off somewhere to hide. Figures…_

 _Looking up when the door opened to the room, standing anxiously, she stared at Roomi who looked blank. After a moment, the woman looked at her and murmured: "…I'm not pregnant."_

 _Hoshiko groaned, fairly relieved, and slouched on the couch, "Thank goodness…"_

 _Roomi was silent and Hoshiko scowled at her, "I mean, 'thank goodness', right?"_

 _Roomi sat beside her and kneaded her hands, "Of course I don't think we're in the right place to have a baby but…I…I admit it was a thrilling idea."_

 _Hoshiko glanced at her, surprised, "What?"_

" _I mean, having the child of the guy I love, that's…that seemed kind of nice" Roomi whispered, "And…and I-I don't know. I'm being silly. Everything would have gone to hell in a hand basket if I were knocked up."_

 _Frowning, Hoshiko wrapped an arm around Roomi's shoulder and sighed, "No…I think you would have loved it."_

 _Roomi bit her lip and laughed shakily, "I think I'm the only moron that'd want to have a baby with a man that doesn't love me back but…it's JYUN. I don't want anyone's child more."_

" _I'm sure you're not the only one that feels that way…" Hoshiko assured faintly._

" _I bet you'll never feel that way with how head over heels you and hooker with a penis are" Roomi pouted, slumping down on the couch._

 _Hoshiko flustered, "E-eh? A baby? With-with Julius? That'd be crazy!"_

" _Damn skippy it would be" Roomi snorted._

 _Hoshiko sent her a look and Roomi smiled some at her, "But I bet if he's the man you really truly love and, though I'll never understand why, you probably do and you both wanted a child…"_

 _Hoshiko flushed…a baby…?_

…A baby.

Hoshiko blushed as she wandered behind Julius, wearing a black speedo of all things, who was holding her hand and dragging her towards the sea.

"We're getting in the water, kitten" he informed her firmly, "And when we get back to the Mainland, I'm yelling at your 'friend'."

"I thought it was cute too" she pouted, wearing a purple string bikini.

"It's showing off things only _I_ should be able to be appreciate!" he growled and glared at a group of guys passing by, admiring her…posterior. Pulling her against him, he glared, "Eyes off, bitches!"

"Julius!" Hoshiko hissed.

He pouted as she jerked away from him and tossed up her nose, getting closer to the edge, "I have a whole family of possessive males, you, I don't need a possessive boyfriend too!" 

"But you're _my_ bunny" he pouted, following her.

Hoshiko turned and propped her hands on her hips, "So? That doesn't mean people aren't going to look at me, right?"

Julius just sighed and Hoshiko grabbed his hands, pulling him back into the water with a smile, "Stop being such a jerk! We've been planning this vacation for months!"

He finally smiled too and allowed her to pull him back into the water. Well, she didn't know about a baby but things had gone extremely well between them over the last two years. He'd informed his aunt that they were going out and wrote her a check for half the tuition he 'owed' her and promised he'd have the next half in a few months. Boy, had it pissed her off. Julius had just shrugged and said it'd help if he didn't feel he owed her anything.

…Oh well. Almost two years…that was an accomplishment.

…That wasn't normal in her family.

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"Mm…"

Shimizu Julius gazed up groggily at the scent of apple cinnamon pancakes. He grinned lazily after a moment, crawling out of bed and walking into the kitchen.

"Roomi, what is with you and this guy?" grunted Hoshiko.

His grin passed and he glared, miffed to find that oompa-loompa here when he woke up. Seiwa Roomi just shrugged.

"I like him!"

"What about Jyun?" demanded Hoshiko rather protectively.

"Of course I still _love_ your brother, Hoshiko" Roomi grumbled, "But it's not like he's going to change."

Hoshiko just pursed her lips. Julius just rolled his eyes, "Where's my pancakes?"

She jumped a little and frowned, "Morning, baby. They're in the kitchen. They should still be toasty."

Roomi and he exchanged a look of disgust, "I can't believe you _sleep_ with this freak. You could do so much better."

"I'm glad Hoshiko has taste because her brother obviously doesn't" retorted Julius.

Hoshiko rubbed her temple, "Guys…"

Julius kissed her lovingly, "I'm sorry, kitten. Good morning."

"Good morning" she sighed once more, "There's some coffee brewed too."

He nodded and walked into the kitchen. Roomi cocked a brow, "I'd have found that cuter if it wasn't with hooker with a penis!" 

"I bet you're familiar with a lot of those!" called Julius back.

"Come to think of it, I bet you don't _have_ one."

Hoshiko sulked at her and Julius returned with his plate, snorting, "I believe I do. Else how would I bang my Hoshi?"

"JULIUS!"

"I dunno, maybe she bangs _you_. You know they have 'tools' for that kind of thing" Roomi said airily.

"ROOMI!"

Eating a square of his pancake, Julius closed an eye thoughtfully, "Actually, that doesn't sound half bad…"

Hoshiko stared at him and Roomi just kind of blinked before clearing her throat, "I'm officially speechless."

"You're not the only one…"

"I'm open-minded" he grinned and wandered towards the door.

Roomi smirked, "Anyway…"

"I just…think you should be careful" Hoshiko said cautiously, "…I mean, you don't want to be with a guy you don't love…"

"I think I'd learn to love him if I felt he was serious."

"'Learn to love him'?" growled Hoshiko. 

Roomi shrugged and glanced at her watch, "I gotta go, babe, I'm having lunch with Jouji soon."

Hoshiko pursed her lips but nodded, letting Roomi out. Ugh.

"… _You're taking her WHERE?"_

" _Paris" Jyun said again simply, "I've never been and I think she'd love it."_

" _Uh, yea, I can't think of many people that wouldn't" Hoshiko snorted sarcastically, eating some waffles at her and her brother's 'hang'. As stupid as it made her feel, she felt kind of giddy that they had a place where they met up…_

 _Kyo smirked, eating a rack of ribs before groaning, "My God, whatever they do to their food can't be legal…"_

" _Their ribs are good" Jyun agreed._

" _Hey" grunted Hoshiko, "What is going on with you and Roomi, baka?"_

 _Kyo and Jyun exchanged a look and shrugged. Hoshiko leered, "Hey, I know that look!"_

" _You're imagining it, imoto" Jyun assured._

 _She glared, "Tell me!"_

 _Jyun sighed and glowered, "You're a girl."_

 _Hoshiko puffed up, "I haven't heard that in a billion years, JERK!"_

" _Yea, well, this is different" grunted Jyun, "Girls tell their girlfriends secrets and I can't have it."_

 _Hoshiko blinked curiously, "What?"_

 _Jyun glared before sighing, slumping, "If you tell her, I swear, I will never, ever, ever forgive you."_

 _Hoshiko leaned forward and nodded, "Okay, promise."_

 _Jyun scowled before sighing, "I'm... I think…in love with her…"_

 _Hoshiko gaped, her heart skipping, "…What!"_

" _Shh! I…I know, it's weird, it's not ME but…but I…genuinely love her" he blushed, glowering._

 _Kyo gagged and Jyun smacked him in the back of his head. Hoshiko was pretty much floored. She…KNEW something weird was going on with them, she just…didn't know her brother…_

 _OH GOD! Roomi loved him too! Hoshiko stared at him, actually wishing he HADN'T told her. Jyun glared, "I know that look on your face. No. You promised!"_

" _I know…" she smiled weakly._

 _Kyo snorted, "She's probably stunned that the playboy Casanova single playa' for life is in love."_

 _Jyun pursed his lips and Hoshiko laughed slowly, "Yea…that's weird…"_

The reason he was waiting was to tell Roomi was stupid as hell. Well, what was she saying? She could relate to crazy relatives with standards. He just didn't want that woman to get in her way. Mira still tried to get into her and Julius' way so she wished she could fulfill some wish to get her to leave them alone.

"You know I was kidding, right?"

Hoshiko glanced at Julius, who was sipping a cup of Colombian coffee, cocking a brow, "What?"

"About the strap-on sex."

"Julius!" she exclaimed.

He laughed huskily and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her fervently, "Then again…"

"You kink" she grumbled, but sighed, hugging his neck.

"Mm, I love your hair…" he suddenly remarked though it was something he said daily.

Hoshiko grumbled, "It's a pain in the ass."

"It's beautiful" he countered.

Her hair had grown out to around her shoulders, a continuous wavy texture. Shoko had put her on a 'program' that led to a lot of carefree hair growth and Julius usually couldn't keep his hands out of it.

Julius rubbed her lower back and she blinked as he squeezed her, "…Have you thought about what I asked?"

Her cheeks flushed and she softly pushed away, groaning. He pouted, "What? C'mon, you promised you'd think about it."

"That's such a huge commitment though" she insisted.

"We've been together for like two years! I mean, if we add that part where we hated each other…"

She laughed and sat down on the couch, sighing, "No, no, I really can't add that part…"

He snickered, slamming down beside her, "Either way, I think it's still a reasonable request."

Hoshiko pinked and looked at him with a petulant moue, "Moving in together is a huge step."

"I practically live here anyway and you practically live at my place. We just switch when we feel like it" he pointed out.

Rubbing her temple, she sighed, "…Maybe?"

"That doesn't sound reassuring" he snorted.

"I love you" she murmured, "But…that'd be way different for me."

He sighed himself and pulled her into his side, "…I won't push you. You do what feels natural."

Hoshiko closed her eyes and nodded, "I…I want it to be right for both of us."

"Well, just know that no matter what, I want to be with you" he said seriously, "…No matter what."

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"…Me?"

Roshinko Eo looked wary but smiled some, "You're a good presenter, Julius, and this company is looking to invest in stocks, after all, and, well…"

Julius scratched the back of his head, sending a look at his aunt who was crafting something, sparing him a glance before sniffing. He sighed and shrugged.

"I wouldn't _mind_ but…are you sure want me? I'm sure any number of people can present a good sales technique."

"Oh, naturally, but I want you for this" he insisted, "It's a week trip to another country too, you can't beat that."

"…Okay" Julius agreed reluctantly. He could sell jewelry but…stock? That wasn't exactly his area of expertise.

Eo nodded before looking to Mira who gave him a sharp glare, "And uh, you'll actually be alone on this trip."

Julius hid his eye roll. Of course. "Hoshiko is _definitely_ a harder seller than I am. She wouldn't give them any reason to refuse."

"Well still, I'd need her here" Eo coughed.

Right. "Fine, whatever."

Eo smiled nervously and Julius stalked off. Sucks. He was going to China and he couldn't bring his bunny? Who was he going to cuddle with? Opening the door to the office, he frowned and found Hoshiko looking sleepily out the window.

"You okay, cutie?" he asked.

Her gaze interrupted, she looked to him and smiled, "Hi. Yea, I'm…I don't know, thinking."

Julius frowned and walked over to sit beside her, "What?"

"I…I'm just worried about Jyun" she rubbed her temple, "…It's nothing though."

Julius scowled, "You should tell Roomi then."

"I can't do that!" she complained, "It's not my place anyway!"

Julius just sighed and hugged her, "It'll work out…but I have more bad news: I'm leaving."

Hoshiko frowned and glanced up at him, "What do you mean?"

"I'm going on a business trip" he shrugged, "To China."

"Aww! That's so cool!" she gasped.

He pursed his lips, "You should be _upset_ that I won't be with you for a whole week!"

She giggled and kissed his moue, "Bring me a cheongsam, I've always wanted one even when I was mannish."

Julius laughed then grinned, hugging her waist tighter, "Damn, that would be pretty sexy."

Resting her cheek on his chest, she murmured, "Julius…uh, I was pondering more. I think…it would be kind of nice to live with you."

He blinked, surprised, "…Really?"

She nodded and flustered, pushing her face into his chest, "But-but let's discuss it more once you get back, okay?"

Blushing a tad himself, he kissed her, "…I can't wait."

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"…Mira, don't you think this is _evil_?"

Roshinko Mira glanced at her husband absently as he looked anxious, gritting his teeth, "I mean, you've told him for years that-that you didn't _know_. And now, to pull this out of the woodwork-"

"I don't want him with that girl" Mira said irritably, "Her family, they're just like that man's family. She'll be nothing but trouble for him and…and I won't let him suffer a similar fate as my sister."

"But to do _this_ …this is taking it too far" he hissed, "And it can even come back to bite you!"

Mira laughed incredulously, "And how would it do that?"

"For all you know, it won't even have the influence you think it'll have" he muttered.

"It will have _some_ influence. It's just funny that she knows someone so close to the situation. It's perfect" she said simply.

Eo rubbed his forehead, wondering why he was going to be involved in this craziness. Mira insisted but…he hated doing such underhanded things.

"Why did you even pretend you liked Hoshiko?" he demanded.

"She was a good and very productive worker…but she was BUTCH! Her and my nephew weren't supposed to fall in love!"

Eo hid rolling his eyes, an action he rarely partook in but it was very hard to fight. "…When this backfires, I don't want to have played a single part in it."

She rolled her eyes at him without incident. Eo may have been an idealist, he knew that, and perhaps too optimistic when compared to others.

But he wasn't a dummy. This was going to be bad.

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…Why was he looking at him like that?

Julius had arrived in China yesterday night and went straight to bed, nauseous over this meeting. He woke up, butterflies still dancing around in his stomach but a bit calmer. He called Hoshiko and she gave him a pep talk that helped. And he was on his way.

So yea, he gave a pretty decent spiel that everyone there seemed receptive to and for that he was glad. At least he could say he did his best.

…It was just this guy there that was staring at him like he was…weird.

Maybe not weird, actually. Just like he didn't know what to think of him and that he was surprised by him. Really, he was wearing a black blazer over a red shirt and black pants. He couldn't be dressed more normally!

Julius spared him a look when the fellow was asked to speak. He spoke firmly, coolly, leaving no room for question. It was scary…

But it was strange. His hair was…purple? It wasn't like he dyed it so it had to be natural, right? That was strange. Only purple haired people he knew were himself and…

"Do you think it's a good investment, Seiwa-xiansheng?" asked a man slightly fluent in Japanese.

Julius' eyes widened. Seiwa? Purple hair? The midget's dad, maybe…?

"It may be" the man said simply, "You just have to ask yourself if you're willing to take the risk."

…Man, how'd this stiff have a daughter like…her?

They told him and the other candidates they were going to think on it and give them an answer individually tomorrow. Walking out, feeling puzzled, he just shook it off. Okay, tad coincidental, but nothing big.

Pondering over lunch, he jumped when he found Roomi's father outside, smoking a cigarette. His eyes were a grey color so the blue must have been from their mother, Julius assumed. Swallowing, he bowed respectfully and quickly tried to rush past him. He'd once heard Roomi and Hoshiko talking, the woman saying her father was a strict no-nonsense type of guy and that she really liked Hoshiko's father because he was the complete opposite. She said she really disliked being around her dad. That had irritated him as he never had a father. Then again, if he did and he was like this guy, he might have disliked it too.

"Wait."

He paused and glanced at him, confused. He had an unreadable look on his face as he exhaled from his expensive cigarette. "…What was your name again?"

Julius stared at him slowly before stating: "Shimizu Julius."

The man stared at him for a moment before puffing, "…Shimizu."

He frowned and stared around awkwardly. Okay, this was really weird and nauseating. Go before you say something stupid, he told himself before starting to bow to the man again and excuse himself when his cell phone rang. Swallowing, he smiled nervously and did excuse himself to answer.

"Julius! Please talk me into not killing my _good_ friend" snarled Hoshiko.

"What is your problem?!" demanded Roomi in the background.

Julius grimaced and pulled the phone away from his ear, "Well bunny, you may as well kill her, I don't mind."

Hoshiko growled and Julius rubbed the back of his head, glancing at the man who was staring at him evenly. Swallowing, he grinned, "Uh, can I call you back? I'm kind of speaking with someone."

"Ah! I'm so sorry, baby, you're at work" she whined.

"It's fine" he assured, "Just don't do anything that'll get you arrested. You're too adorable for prison."

"Okay…"

He smiled as she sounded disappointed and he hung up. Turning, the man glanced out towards the sun under the awning.

"…Sounded important" he said in an ambiguous tone.

Julius smiled some and kicked his feet, "Uh, my girlfriend is fighting with her friend. Actually, I, uh, noticed in the meeting, you share the same last name with her friend. Do you know Roomi-"

The man's attention definitely seemed to have caught when he said that name and glared heatedly, "Roomi? Seiwa Roomi?"

"Um-"

The man glared and rather rudely walked away without another word. Julius' eyes widened and he stared after him.

…What?

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" _You have our support"_ the guy told him, signing the papers and pretty much within the next hour putting him back on the next plane to Japan.

…What was going on?

He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to snuggle with his kitten but wanted to deliver the news to his uncle. Eo honestly hadn't seemed to be convinced Julius could do it but, alas, he did, and he kind of wanted to gloat. Walking toward his office, however, he was kind of hoping Hoshiko was there though she usually didn't stay this late.

At the window of the office they shared was a woman. Not his woman though. She had long blue hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and a stiff tweed business suit. Scowling, he scratched the back of his head and started to back out of the office. Okay…

She turned though and frowned. Her eyes…they were kind of familiar.

"…Shimizu Julius?" she asked.

"…Yes. Who's asking?" he said lowly.

She looked relieved, "Good, I was hoping I wouldn't have to make another visit and you'd be alone. May I speak with you?"

"…I guess, even though you still haven't answered my question" he replied, confused.

"My apologies. I'm, currently, Seiwa Kotomi."

…Another one? Kotomi…that was the woman Hoshi's brother worked for, owner of the magazine Kikanki, and Roomi's sister. Weirded out, he cleared his throat. "I…see. What is this about?"

Kotomi gestured towards him closing the door and he frowned, doing so, and he offered her his chair. She took it and thanked him politely enough. Just why did he get the idea this wasn't going to be a nice conversation?

"…So, can I help you with something?" he asked slowly.

She folded her hands, her legs crossed. He had to ponder why she looked so serious and…serious. Her sister was not like this at all. Weird.

"I want to be frank, Shimizu-san" she cleared her throat.

"…Very well."

Kotomi paused for a moment and sighed, "Well, for a moment I won't. I…I truly want to say that I don't…particularly agree with this line of action. In fact, I find it rather cruel. And that father put me in charge of it, I think is dually unkind. I…I'd rather be ignorant of the truth as well."

Julius' brows furrowed and she stared at him straight in the eye, "My father demands that you stay away from Roomi."

A little more than confused, his eyes widened and he blinked, "Believe me, I'd prefer that we have no relationship, honestly, but-"

…Oh crap, he was about to admit he was seeing Hoshiko which would have gotten back to her brother. Ugh, careful idiot.

"Um, she's close with Hoshiko whom I work with and she just comes around from time to time" he quickly smiled.

"Oh, that's understandable" Kotomi stated quickly, "It can't be expected that you'd avoid her completely in the same circles. But just…"

"Why though?" he asked, suddenly the topic striking at him as very strange, "I mean, we're like oil and water, it's not like I'm dating her or anything."

"Oh, I'm sure" Kotomi swallowed slowly, smiling nervously, "It's…just a request."

"…I don't understand" he said, suddenly feeling suspicious.

Kotomi looked at the shelf nearby and said simply, "…It's best that you don't."

She stood and bowed, "Thank you for your time, Shimizu-san."

Julius glared and stood, "What's going on? I think I deserve to know what's happening here, Seiwa-san."

"…I'm sorry" Kotomi said frankly, "I…just do what I'm told."

He gaped as she walked past him from the office…

 _What_?

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"You look f—king awful!"

Yagami Hoshiko frowned and was inclined to agree with that obscene outburst as the three siblings sat in their hangout. Yagami Jyun's face was extremely pale, the lines under his eyes a dark brown color, and he just looked…frail.

The waitress came and took their order to which Jyun promptly answered he'd just have tea. Scowling, Kyo, who'd made the statement, growled. "You look like you've lost a million pounds! Order something."

"I'm not hungry" Jyun stated monotonously.

Over the last five or so months, since this Jouji popped into the picture, Jyun just seemed…dead. The woman he loved but couldn't tell was falling into another man's arms and apparently, she just made it official. Jyun just about drank himself into a coma. His parents even ended up carrying him home because he blacked out.

Hoshiko was more than a little pissed when Roomi had called her the other day and pleaded that she was worried senseless about Jyun since he'd been 'acting weird when she told him about Jouji and couldn't get him to answer the door'. Hoshiko just yelled at her that maybe Jyun didn't want to see her after Roomi left him. Roomi had probably gawked and yelled that she had done no such thing, that she and Jyun never had that kind of relationship. Hoshiko wanted to tell her then and there that they could if she'd just _wait_ -

…Deep down, Hoshiko knew that it wasn't fair to Roomi. Two years she'd been in love with her brother, thinking the man didn't love her back and hell, if she told him, he'd leave her and never see her again. That, Hoshiko understood. She'd be frustrated too if that happened.

But at the same time, Roomi was _forcing_ herself to move on. If she just… _waited,_ she'd have the one she actually wanted. Just…a couple more weeks.

Hoshiko probably overreacted when Roomi came over and demanded to know what she'd heard about Jyun. She'd told the shorter woman that maybe he'd passed out, knowing full well that, well, he had. Roomi just about blasted her and yelled at her to stop being facetious. Hoshiko had snorted, stating sarcastically that she wasn't. Just managed to irritate the woman more and they nearly got into a fist fight.

…Ugh.

Jyun nodded slowly at the waitress that dropped off his tea and sipped it absently before glancing at Hoshiko, "Roomi seems upset that you two got into a fight. I hope it wasn't over me."

"What else would it be over?" muttered Hoshiko, crossing her arms.

"That's not necessary, Hoshi…" he sighed heavily.

"Just effin' _tell_ her" Kyo snapped, "She wouldn't move on if you'd just confessed al-damn-ready!"

Jyun just grasped his head and Hoshiko frowned, "It'll…be okay, Jyun."

She jumped a little when her cell phone chimed. Julius. Sighing, she answered.

"Hey, what's up?"

She took the tone she used around her brothers to inform him that if he spoke cutely she'd laugh and have to make up some stupid excuse. Thankfully, he didn't but he sounded confused, "Hey…um, you're with your brothers?"

"Mm hmm…"

"Oh…uh, could you break away soon? I…I'm kind of weirded out and…could really use some company."

She frowned, "What's wrong?"

"…It's weird" he laughed warily, "Your oompa loompa's sister came by and…told me to stay away from her, from Roomi."

Hoshiko was a little puzzled. Okay, a lot puzzled. "…Why?"

"She didn't say…" he mumbled, "But in China, I met their father and…and after I mentioned her by accident, it just played out this way. I feel odd about it."

Hoshiko's brows furrowed…what? "Okay, um, I'll swing by and see what's going on."

"Thanks, babe."

She clicked off and tapped her fingertips. So Roomi was now leaving her brother and now, Roomi's father had some weird ties to her boyfriend.

…What was going on?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Um, hello."

The receptionist glanced at him and tilted her head, cocking a brow, "Hello? If you're looking for Seiwa-san, he's out of the country."

Shimizu Julius was a little taken aback. Why did it seem like he was looking for that guy?

He called Hoshiko back a few minutes after he called her and told her, on second thought, to come over later because he wanted to go do some investigation. She seemed reluctant but he assured her he'd want to see her later.

So he tried to figure out where the guy worked and was at least able to get that much. Now he was at the place but…

"Ah…sort of. Why?" he questioned awkwardly.

"Well, I'd think you two are related somehow" the receptionist said, rather ditzy, "Your hair is just about the same and some of your facial features-"

"Uh, no, just a coincidence" he said, a tad disturbed, "Um, I guess he's still in China then. I-just tell him Shimizu Julius had wanted to speak to him about a matter if he finds his way back."

"Oh, he's rarely here-"

"Shimizu, you said?"

Julius frowned and glanced over his shoulder. A lady around his aunt's age was standing there, looking him over curiously. The receptionist smiled slightly, "Ah, Sue-san."

She was tanned with black hair and dark eyes. She was dressed like an islander, he noted.

"…Ah!" she gasped, her hands flying to her lips, "Mizuki's son!"

He stiffened and felt his heart skip sporadically, "…You…knew my mother?"

"'Knew'?" the woman's head tilted, confused.

"…She died a long time ago. When I was five" he muttered, wondering how this topic even came up.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry" the woman offered slowly.

"Mm."

Sue looked to the receptionist who looked curious before smiling, "…Let's talk."

Julius wasn't sure what they possibly had to discuss but relented and followed her up the stairs. She sat him at a desk and laughed a little, "Seiwa-san would spaz out if he knew."

"Knew what?" he questioned, cocking a brow, looking around the cluttered office that had some jasmine scents floating about.

She glanced back at him as she went through a file cabinet, "About what I'm going to tell you."

Julius blanked and she pulled out a paper, placing it before him, "Mizuki worked here before you were born."

Julius' eyes widened when he saw a business picture, his mother standing starkly in the corner. She looked…young and vibrant.

…His mother couldn't have been more than 24 when she died yet she seemed like she was hundred years old. Seeing her like this, it just bothered him.

Swallowing, he nodded, "…I see."

"Did your family ever tell you anything about the incident?" the woman asked cautiously.

Julius scowled and was about to question 'what incident?' before, suddenly, a whole lot of blanks were filled that he never wanted to be.

…His mother had an affair with the assistant CEO of a company. Seiwa Shirou, Roomi's dad was…the assistant CEO, he'd found out at the meeting in China.

Bile rose in his throat as he slowly felt the blood drain from his face, his lips going dry as he parted them in an attempt to say… _something._ Sue just sighed and nodded.

"Your mother was an intern. She started here when she was nineteen and everyone thought she'd have a bright future in the company. Mizuki was driven, determined, strong willed. She was exactly the type of person that was set to be in this company for years to come."

The woman turned, her arms folded behind her back, "…Seiwa-san, well, he was on the road to divorce. His wife and him, they were so…arranged. They planned out their daughter and their marriage to perfection. They…they weren't a normal couple. They weren't separated at the time, they just didn't seem to have intimacy."

Julius was silent as the woman continued, "Mizuki always worked late and diligently and…I guess they saw a lot of each other. I'm the bookkeeper and all I can say is they made quite a few bookings at hotels when it wasn't quite necessary."

Julius swallowed the burning lump in his throat as Sue sighed, "Mizuki, naturally, ended up pregnant. Seiwa-san was concerned about his reputation and wanted her to end the pregnancy. She refused. Att the time, he couldn't leave his wife because they'd had a reconciliation and were, unexpectedly, also going to have a baby."

He and Roomi were the same age. He was a couple months older…

He felt like he was going to vomit.

The woman set another few slips of paper before him but he wasn't certain he could handle anymore…but he looked at them and frowned. There were some pretty large figures. They ended about the time he'd started working at Roshinko Day.

"…Is this…child support?" he questioned lowly.

"Mm. Seiwa-san offered Mizuki-san a rather exorbitant amount of money to keep her silent and not tell his wife about their affair and you. He paid the child support and some 'hush money', I suppose."

Julius gaped at the money and for a moment, he…was confused. "…My mother has been dead for twenty years now. Where…where has this money been going?"

"I'd assume whoever raised you" Sue frowned thoughtfully.

Julius digested that as the woman kind of absently pointed out, "He even increased the payment when you got to college age here, I guess to clear whatever your tuition and expenses would be."

Staring at the receipts, all right there, his jaw grew taut as he muttered, "His…daughter, Seiwa Kotomi, she…came to see me today. Told me that I had to stay away from his youngest daughter, Roomi. I know her through other sources. You happen to know…anything about that?"

The woman looked up at him with a commiserate look, "Honestly…I think he doesn't want you to be involved with his family."

Julius stared at her and realized…

…She was right.

He was the bastard affair child, the flaw in his perfect family. If news of his existence got out, it'd be a disgrace to him. So…all he was to his father…was a dirty little secret that had to be hidden under the carpet.

His throat tightened as he bit his lip, bitter anger and anguish building in his soul. So 'pay them enough and they'd keep quiet' was his mantra? Pay them enough that I can't be held responsible if anything went wrong though I want nothing to do with them? Is that how people like them lived? Just pay a few coins here and everything would be peachy.

That son of a bitch knew who he was at that damn meeting! He _knew_ that he was his son and he treated him like he was _nothing_. And when he learned that Julius had contact with his precious perfect little family, he blew a gasket, sent his daughter to do reconnaissance…and her, she knew too, told him that she felt it was wrong but she just 'did what she was told'. Damn it! 

…That…she was his half-sister, he thought sickeningly. He had _siblings_ and he couldn't even _talk_ to them? He wasn't supposed to talk to Roomi. id she know something?

No…no, she didn't know anything either. She had no idea that they were related. Roomi was probably that one that would let it all out without batting an eye and crush the Seiwa name. She joked with Hoshiko that she was the black sheep of the family, she wouldn't really care if the whole thing came tumbling down. Seems they were siblings, he thought icily, standing swiftly.

"Oh dear…are you okay?" Sue asked slowly.

"No, I'm not" he said monotonously.

The woman stared at him before saying wisely, "I guess you wouldn't be. But I…always felt like you should know these things though Seiwa-san insisted that you be kept in the dark. You have…family, you should be a part of that."

"No" he hissed, his voice cool, dark, malicious, "I don't have any f-king family. I just have a bitch of a mother who killed herself because she slept with a bastard that paid her to keep her mouth shut about him not being able to keep it in his pants and knocked her up. I have one brainwashed 'sister' that informs me I can't associate with my other sister in case she lets me out of the bag and destroy their damn father's image."

And what hurt him the most…"…And I have an aunt…who made it seem like she paid for every part of my life, made me think I _owed_ her something when all along she was just getting handouts from my deadbeat father. No, I don't have _family_. I've _always_ been alone."

Turning on his heel, sick to his stomach, he rushed out of the building without another word, running like his life depended on it towards his apartment. He had a father now, he thought humorlessly as he laughed after throwing up.

A father that considered him nothing but a bill to be paid.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _Why? Why are things going so freakin' badly?!"_

Hoshiko watched worriedly as her brother rather methodically put all his boxes of possessions in their parent's basement. Their father watched with his brows furrowed and their mother was kneading her hands madly. Kyo was just yelling at him, demanding 'what the hell he was doing?'.

But Jyun was silent as he dropped the boxes neatly in a pile, his face haggard and pale with exhaustion. He seemed weak and just…dead, like nothing was worth living for anymore. He even stopped momentarily to cough rather hoarsely. Their mother freaked but he waved her off absently and went back to work.

Roomi was engaged. And it wasn't to him.

" _Damn it, Jyun! Did you tell her?!" demanded Kyo when they asked what had happened. Jyun had just come over to Kyo's apartment in a fog and told her older brother the news. Kyo had text her and she rushed over immediately._

" _Tell her what?" he asked, dazed._

 _Hoshiko growled, "That you love her!"_

 _He was silent as he sat on Kyo's sofa, gazing faintly ahead of him. "…Yea, I did."_

 _Hoshiko and Kyo had exchanged a very confused glance before Kyo questioned, "…And what did she say?"_

 _Jyun was quiet before his lip trembled, burying his face in his hands "She told me…that she's sorry…but she's marrying that…guy. I was…NOTHING to her. She-she even asked me to do the damn photography, that I was her-her 'best friend'. I never meant anything to her…"_

 _Hoshiko gaped, absolutely speechless, and dropped beside him, "Onii-san-"_

" _It hurts so bad…" he laughed grimly, "SO bad. This-this has to be karma for all the women I rejected like this. I…I didn't know it felt like this…"_

" _Jyun…" Kyo murmured._

 _He sat up and pushed his usually kept but now messy hair away from his extremely red face, his eyes glittery._

" _Oh Jesus, Jyun, don't cry. I'll kill her if you cry…" muttered Kyo, pursing his lips, seeming startled._

 _Hoshiko, also troubled by this uncharacteristic emotion, felt her blood boil as she launched to her feet, "I will kill her! How dare she?!"_

 _Jyun caught her wrist and shook his head, using the palm of his free hand to roughly rub at his eyes, "No, both of you-ALL of you: leave her alone. I-I was stupid, arrogant, to think that…that she'd wait for me. Why would she? I told her right off we had no future and nothing had changed and that-that either of us could end it any time we wanted. She just…followed the rules. It just…really hurts."_

 _Hoshiko started to open her mouth, ready to angrily tell him that for almost three years Roomi cried over how much she loved him and how much she wished he would love her…and for her to do this to him? She'd never forgive her!_

" _You know what sickens me?" he questioned softly, "…I was ready to let her be the one that got hurt all those years ago if our 'fling' came to an end. That was just how my 'relationships' worked."_

 _Hoshiko's eyes widened and he just said faintly, "…Maybe I deserved this."_

 _He released her and turned on his side away from them, curling up a little, "…Just…gimme a second. I'll…be okay."_

Except he wasn't. He decided that the best option was to leave Japan.

Hoshiko bit her lip and blurted, "Jyun! This isn't necessary!"

He hadn't really responded to anything they'd said in the last few hours. She wondered whether he didn't care or if he'd heard them at all. Kyo snarled and snatched a box away from him.

"Jyun! She's just a woman! You're going to leave Japan, your family, your _life,_ because of some woman!?"

Jyun stared at him and said in a rather even tone, "She isn't just 'some woman'."

He didn't elaborate but it wasn't really necessary. Elli sobbed and pleaded for him to reconsider, that he was acting too hastily. Nelly just told him he was being ridiculous, that Kyo was right, up and leaving his life behind for something like this wasn't going to work in the long run. Hoshiko…didn't have anything to say.

…Everything had been going _so_ well.

But now…now her 'best friend' had shattered her brother's heart and, it seemed, mind by going off and getting engaged to a man Hoshiko very well knew she wasn't in love with.

…And her boyfriend was angry again.

She couldn't honestly figure out what was wrong with Julius. She called him and he yelled at her to 'stop f—king calling so much' or something and would hang up on her. Julius had moments like that and she'd learned to ignore them. Hell, she had moments like that. But for the last four weeks? Really?

He absolutely refused to talk to her at work or at all for that matter and that was when he _did_ come in and that was extremely rare. Then, when he was there, he just sat and stared at the wall. Why he acting like a psycho, she had no idea, but it was starting to get old. She wanted him to tell her things and he just…wouldn't. All she could put together about the situation was it had something to do with Seiwa Kotomi telling him to stay away from Roomi, the trip to China, and some investigating. He must have turned something up in that investigation, naturally, but he wouldn't tell her. She was just…confused.

…And now, her brother was running away.

She knew it had all been too good to be true.

Jyun dropped the final box and grabbed his duffel bag that was apparently the _only_ thing he was taking on this journey. It looked like a week's worth of clothes. Elli cut off his path as he started to make his way towards the door.

"Yagami Kaoru Jyun, I am not letting you out of this house!"

"Mm, don't break out my whole name, mama…" he murmured soberly before hugging her tightly around her waist, "I love you."

"JYUN!"

He picked her up and turned around, placing her out of his way and wandering out. Kyo just stared after him, Nelly shaking his head, calling, "Where are you going, Jyun? Leave us with at least _that_. Like it or not, you're our damn child. I want to know where you're running off to in this state of mind."

Jyun paused but didn't turn around before saying in a sober, straight-forward tone: "I'll call when I find where I need to be. _"_

They kind of gaped at this answer and he walked out, heading towards the ferry to go to the mainland airport. Hoshiko bit her lip and Elli went into weeping fits, running from the house. Kyo just looked angry and Nelly stuffed his hands in his pockets before wandering away too.

Damn it! 

Hoshiko rushed behind him and was surprised that, well, he was apparently making some rounds, at least. He stopped by Keiji's, their cousin by their father's twin, house and told him he was going away for a while. Keiji scowled, tilting his head, and demanding 'where the hell are you going?'. Jyun just shrugged. Celia, Keiji's wife, looked upset but gave him a hug and Keiji grunted, punching Jyun's shoulder.

"You better come back, bitch, or I'll bring you back."

Jyun agreed…sort of. Next was Kaede, Keiji's sister, and Steiner. Kaede had about the same reaction as Keiji but hugged him tightly, wishing him the best as well. Steiner just kind of frowned…"…Just remember you can't run away forever."

Jyun didn't seem to have a remark for that but if anyone knew that it was probably Steiner. He went through all the separate relatives…but saved Inaba Carrie for last.

It used to irk Hoshiko extremely when they were little because Jyun and Carrie were just about inseparable back then and _she_ was a girl, one of Jyun's apparent problems with Hoshiko. Jyun told her it was because she was his sister too and Carrie was very masculine at times. But that was his best friend. Maybe she'd understand him though, Hoshiko thought, wearily following her brother at a distance as he knocked on the Inaba door. Carrie answered, holding her new baby, Emma, who was almost two and also greatly adored Jyun.

Carrie stared at him for a couple moments…before slapping him. Hoshiko grimaced. What was she thinking? Carrie wasn't really the 'understanding' type.

"SNAP out of it! It's her loss if she doesn't want you! You don't go effin' skip town when things don't work out! You remember I did something a little like that? You got pissed with me for it!"

Jyun rubbed where she struck him and actually seemed a bit back to normal as he replied wryly, "Well now, this is a _tad_ different as I'm actually telling you I'm leaving."

Carrie wasn't buying and sat Emma down on the porch, glaring daggers at him, "I will _fight_ you and knock you out, bitch. You're not going anywhere."

"Carrie-"

"What about _me_? Or-or _anyone_!" she demanded loudly, "You're saying you're willing to abandon your whole family over one woman?!"

"I'm not abandoning my family!" he protested wearily, "I just need some time to myself."

Carrie just about seethed and, for a moment, Hoshiko thought she could talk him out of it. If anyone could, perhaps it was Carrie.

However. "I'm going whether you say good-bye to me or not, Carrie. I just knew you'd be pretty mad if I said 'bye' to Kei and Kaede but not you."

Her blue eyes got almost puppy dog sad and Jyun actually grimaced, turning his face, "Ugh, don't look at me like that. I'm already depressed enough…"

"You're a jerk. A f—king jerk" she cried, wiping her eyes.

"I know…"

Carrie pressed her face against his chest and hugged him tightly, "Promise me, Jyun. _Promise_ that you won't be gone for like a million years."

"I promise."

"It'd help if I believed you…" she smiled sadly.

Jyun sighed, "All I can do is promise. I just…need some time, okay? I promise I'll be back."

Carrie nodded miserably and Jyun sighed, kneeling, "Now for the one I'll definitely have trouble saying good bye to…"

Hoshiko scowled. What? But Emma Inaba, so adorable, placed her hands on his knees and looked up at him sweetly. Ah.

"Uncle Jyun is going to go bye-bye for a bit, baby" he said, stroking her hair, "No boys in your room, okay?"

"Jyun, if Emma's old enough for that issue by the time you come back, that constitutes a _million_ years" growled Carrie.

Jyun sent her a sulky look, "I was _kiddinh_ , okay?"

"Uncah Juu bye-bye?" Emma questioned, pouty.

"Yea, baby girl, Uncah's going bye-bye…but I'm going to call you and talk to you all the time, okay?" he said softly.

Emma probably didn't comprehend what was going on but nodded and he smiled sadly, leaning down, "Be a good girl."

She gave him a kiss and went back to her mother who glared darkly at him. Jyun looked at her miserably. "I mean, damn it, Carrie, don't look at me like I stole your effin' puppy or something."

Carrie's look faded into a numb one and he sighed, kissing the corner of her lips, "I love you too, okay?"

She whimpered and clutched him. It was rather heartbreaking, Hoshiko thought softly.

Jyun looked like he could have done without as he walked away, leaving both Carrie in tears and Emma under the influence of Carrie in tears. Hoshiko just…followed.

He hadn't said a word to her, she thought angrily. Come to think of it, he barely addressed Kyo. Why…?

They were already to the airport before she knew it and she balled her fists. Pretty soon, she wouldn't be able to follow him into the terminal unless she was going too. Stopping, ready to scream at the top of her lungs, she did yell: "BAKA!"

Some bystanders glanced at her and Jyun himself paused, glancing over his shoulder at her as she glowered at him.

"It's just like when we were younger! I'd follow you and you'd never give me a second of attention! I hate you! I'm right next to you and you won't even talk to me!"

Jyun turned completely around and sighed heavily, brushing his hair back, "Because I don't think I can say good-bye to you."

Hoshiko frowned and he walked forward, embracing her tightly. "Whatever you do, don't let a prick into your house."

Hoshiko groaned, rolling her eyes, "Jyun…"

"At least…don't let him make promises that'll hurt you" he whispered.

She closed her eyes and grasped his shoulders, "Onii-san…"

"But, more importantly, don't let him sleep with you."

"JYUN."

"I mean it" he glared, pulling away to look at her.

She just gave him that 'are you kidding me?' look and he sighed gravely, kissing her forehead, "I just want you to be happy, okay? If anything hurts you, you tell me, okay? Because no matter how far away I am…you're _all_ important to me, okay? I just-I just need to be away by myself for a while. I-I know you'd all mean well but you'd never give me the space I need while I try to get over this."

Hoshiko was silent and sobbed, "I hate her."

"She's your best friend" he replied to that soberly, "You've really bloomed with her around. Don't hate her on my account, okay? I did this; this is my fault."

She bit her lip and he stroked her hair back, "And can you forget a little how much Kyo and I were jackasses as kids? I mean, I know we were horrible to you but that's what we do best."

She laughed shakily, wiping her eyes, "I'll try."

"I should get going…" he mumbled before gingerly kissing her forehead, "I love you, imoto."

Hoshiko swallowed, "I love you too."

Giving her a final embrace, he grabbed his bag and headed towards security, glowering back at her, "And I mean it about the boys, young lady, I may not be here but I can send people in my place!"

She just waved weakly at him and was at a cross between, 'why were her brothers so crazy?' and 'why was he leaving?'…

…Onii-san.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You have _a lot_ of nerve."

Yagami Hoshiko smoothed her hair away from her burning face to fight wanting to punch Seiwa Roomi in the nose. Roomi stood at the door and stared at her evenly.

"Hoshiko-"

"Why? Has everything you told me about loving my brother been a damn lie?" she demanded, "Why on Earth did you do this to him?!"

"You think I _wanted_ your brother to run away, Hoshiko!? I didn't! I-I was overwhelmed, I didn't think he'd ever, ever _say_ that to me! I just reacted, okay?!"

"Reacted by telling him that you didn't care how he felt?" Hoshiko hissed.

Roomi looked irked, "Did he say I said that? Because I didn't."

"It doesn't matter what you said, the end result is the same: he's _gone_."

"Why didn't you guys stop him?!" Roomi demanded shakily, "You just let him run off? Do you think that even sounds reasonably like Jyun?"

"I know my brother, Roomi" Hoshiko snapped, "And nothing we said reached him. He was gone completely, in mind and whatever else. All that was left for him was to go and leave the country."

Roomi's lip trembled and she blurted, "Please Hoshiko, just…just let me talk to him. I know you guys, you _have_ to have a way to contact him! Everything would be fine!"

Hoshiko laughed bitterly, "Oh, so you're going to say you changed your mind?"

"No, I-I just want to tell him that I'm not going to have the wedding, that I'm…going to think on it."

Hoshiko glared angrily, "So you think that that's going to make this any better? Screw it, Roomi! If you get Jyun's number, it won't be through me!"

"Damn it, Hoshiko! I thought-I thought I could at least depend on _you_ for this" glared Roomi back.

"I thought I could depend on you not to break my brother's heart but you see how that turned out" she said sarcastically.

"…You knew, didn't you?" Roomi hissed, "You _knew_ he had feelings for me too! How could you let me think that he didn't for all these years?!"

"It's not like it was my _place_ to! I hated that I couldn't tell you but Jyun swore me to secrecy!"

Roomi slammed her foot, angry, "Why? Because I was already dumb enough to stick around for two years with him that I'd wait around forever?"

Hoshiko closed her eyes, "I can't have this conversation right now, Roomi. Or _ever_ , for that matter."

Roomi just looked furious, "So this is it, huh? I'm the bad guy, right? I'm the one that was in the dark and it's _my_ fault, right?"

"No. It's just your fault for being spiteful when you didn't have to" Hoshiko said indignantly.

She got slapped…and naturally, she almost hit back but Roomi just took off. Hoshiko stared after her and grabbed her bag. What a great way to start a morning: Losing your best friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Julius watched idly as Hoshiko chatted with Hiro, laughing faintly though she seemed fairly nervous, maybe?_

… _Was she cheating on him?_

 _He hadn't been up to par as his usual self but that didn't mean she had to cheat on him. Why was she talking to that guy?_

… _How had he been able to trust her?_

Hoshiko walked toward Roshinko Eo's office tiredly. He'd asked one of his secretaries to tell her he had to speak with her. Julius had just glared at her suspiciously. Today was the worst day of her life, she thought miserably.

Walking towards the office, it really reminded her of her first day there. She felt like an outsider. Yes, her friends at the office still waved to her and Candy stopped and asked her if she wanted to have lunch. That was different, she had friends.

…But Julius was treating her like she was nothing again.

Slumping, she stood in front of Roshinko Eo's desk as the man looked antsy, kneading his hands rather nervously as he smiled strangely at her. "Ah, Hoshiko, let's…chat for a moment, okay?"

She nodded shortly and sat, "Is something the matter?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about your…performance in the company" he coughed gingerly.

Hoshiko's brows furrowed, shaking her head, "I got those rewards and nominations at the jewelry awards. I mean, unless I've been slacking, which you can tell me. I'll definitely work harder."

She might have seen the man wince. Might. "That's…not quite what I mean, Hoshiko."

Tilting her head, questioning, he swallowed, "Your…work, it's…not progressive, it's not…forward thinking. It's…the same."

Hoshiko frowned and tried not to take this criticism personally. It was kind of hard, but eh. She was an artist. "…Yes, sir."

"…I'm…afraid to say that…we're going to have some cuts after the holidays…and…that I'm not sure you'd…make that cut."

…What? Gaping, she searched for words before blurting, "Are you saying that I'm going to get laid off because my stuff is 'the same'?"

"Well, in-in a matter of speaking-"

Hoshiko just stared for a moment before closing her mouth. Eo was sweating bullets and blurted, "I-I just don't want you to be bad off _if_ that happens, Hos-"

"Say no more" she said monotonously, "I'll have my resignation letter within the hour. Thank you for warning me, Roshinko-san."

"Hosh-"

She stood, not wanting to hear anything else the man could possibly say and bowed swiftly before stalking from the office, fighting tears. What was this? How could they? She'd put endless hours, sweat and tears, _plaques_ on their wall for this company! She'd be one of the _first_ to be cut?

Crying silently, she rushed back into the office where Julius was just throwing pieces of paper at the wall. She swallowed and grabbed her things off her desk and started to stack them away…and well, whatever. Julius apparently was stuck in this funk so it wouldn't matter if she was here or not anymore.

"Yagami-san, you here?"

She looked up to Hiro, one of the coworkers she'd befriended…and now that was over too. For the first time, she'd had _friends_ within her field…and now…now…

Hoshiko barely was able to fight weeping and Hiro who'd peeked in, looked alarmed, "Hey, hey, what's the matter?"

She laughed shakily, wiping her eyes, "I-it's nothing. What's the matter?"

"…Nothing, never mind" he frowned, glancing at Julius shortly, "I'll talk to you later."

No, you wouldn't. "Okay…"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded and the man reluctantly left. Hoshiko sighed and started to walk out of the office to grab a box but found Julius there, slamming the door, his red eyes wild with anger and…something.

"What's going on with him?" he demanded.

"So you're talking to me now?" she asked icily.

"Answer my f—king question, Hoshiko!"

She threw her hands up, "Nothing is going on with anyone, Julius!"

"You're awfully friendly with him" he said coolly, "'I'll talk to you later, Hoshiko'. 'What's the matter, Hiro?'."

"One, we're _friends._ Two, no the f—k body called anyone by first names" she said gruffly.

"So you think it's okay to have a guy friend while you're with me?"

Hoshiko shot him an incredulous look, "Tell me you're not serious."

"I'm dead serious" he hissed, "You might as well admit it, Hoshiko. You're just like any other woman that's lied to me!"

"What is this?!" she demanded, "I thought we'd gotten _past_ this! What is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing's wrong with me! I'm just finally able to see that this _whole_ time, everyone's been lying to me" he laughed somberly, "My mother, my aunt, _everyone_! So why should you be any different, huh?!"

He turned around, spitting acerbically, "Why wouldn't you lie too? Why not be just another bitch to tell me a bunch of shit? I can't believe I ever let myself trust you or-or anyone."

Julius jumped, his shoulders squaring, when she threw something at the back of his head. She'd hoped for a brief second to _impale him._ He had the nerve to turn and glare at her after everything. After _everything._ His face faltered. She didn't know what her face looked like but she'd had enough. She'd had enough.

"I've lied to you? Me? To you?" she trembled, "So what about _you_ , Julius? What about all _your_ lies?"

"What lies?" he growled, demanding angrily, "I've never-"

"Shut the fuck up! You're lying _right_ now!" she yelled, enraged, "You lied when you said you'd tell me things, when you'd _talk_ to me when something went wrong instead of flying off the damn handle!"

He scowled, "I d-"

"You promised that you _trusted_ me and you _just_ told me you _didn't_ trust me because you _assume_ I'm cheating on you when there's no human way possible I have! When have I had the time? When have I _not_ been with you?!"

Julius started to appear a little taken back, slouching a tad, "I-"

"You promised that you wanted to be with me, that you wanted to live together! That's a lie too, isn't it?"

Julius opened his mouth, shaking his head, but she swallowed visibly before whispering, "You said…you loved me. That…that was a lie too, wasn't it?"

He actually blanched and rapidly shook his head, "H-Hoshiko-"

"Enough. It must have been a lie. No one that loves me should continuously hurt me like this" she rasped, clutching her ears, "R-Roomi was right: I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have let this kind of relationship continue."

Hoshiko remembered her favorite book as a child called 'The Best Bad Thing'. The main character, a girl named Rinko, stated that bad things happened in sets of three.

Maybe she just needed one more for good leverage. No. Jyun…Jyun was right: she was over it too. She needed to be gone as well.

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Julius watched, agape, as Hoshiko slammed down at her computer, rapidly typing something and printing it, slamming it down on her desk as she dropped the remaining items she had on her desk in a box. Julius stared at the box, just…very, very confused.

Okay, fine, maybe—maybe it wasn't a logical thought process but it wasn't _impossible_. He felt like everything he'd found out recently hadn't been possible. He…he just needed to smooth this over.

"Wh-what are you— _Hoshiko_!?"

Julius watched in distinct horror as she took a pair of scissors and started hacking off her hair. Her brown wavy locks fell on her desk in clumps, the remainder meeting mid-ear. Slamming the scissors down, she picked up her box and said sadly. "It won't matter since you don't trust me but I'd never lie about the fact that I love you. But I can't stay like this. I can't…keep having this happen."

What? "Hoshi!" he sobbed, "Look, I'm-"

"No more!" she blurted, "Just-just do me one last favor and give this letter to your uncle. And-and just forget about me. Good bye."

He stood there as she ran from the office, his mouth ajar in confusion, startled, and…whatever else. What…what was going on? What…was he thinking?

Leaning down, he picked up what she'd thrown at him, a picture of them at the beach, of him hugging her tightly, kissing her cheek.

He just found out his father paid off everyone in his existence to keep him a secret, that his aunt used that money as leverage to control him, and it all hurt.

But what made him sick was that out of all of that, it didn't begin to hurt like this.

…

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Eep.

Okay, crossover with Jyun's events in Chapter 13…it's kind of sad but I almost found that more depressing than what's going on with Julius and Hoshiko. But that's probably the last perspective of this event that'll happen in any of the stories.

In the beginning part, Julius is singing a song by Seal.

The baby thing happened in Chapter 11 of This Love.

Imoto is little sister.

Onii-san is big brother.

Sue is actually based off of Selena's mother from Tree of Tranquility…I just kind of gave her a personality, I don't know what she's like.

The second to last sentence refers to a book/movie by Yoshiko Uchida called 'The Best Bad Thing'. It has DEFINITELY been about…8 years but I believe she stated something about bad things happening in sets of three.


	13. Letters

**Chapter 13:** Letters

Author's Note: Un…I'm kind of weirded out about how fast things happen in this chapter but admit I like the end parts. It conveys a kind of peace that I'd hope anyone in that situation could find…but who knows, Julius just may be lucky.

Uh, I think maybe three or four more chapters. Or two. Or six, you know how I am XD But it's drawing to a close and I'm excited about getting back to Kyo's story.

There's some dark themes that have actually occurred in this series previously (namely LOAtR) but that's just how the situation is.

Enjoy!

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"… _Are you crazy?"_

 _Shimizu Julius stared at his uncle in sheer disbelief as the man stared at the letter sadly. "…Yes."_

 _Mira snorted and Julius felt empty in every sense. He'd thrown up all day and just lost the one person that he was pretty sure loved him. The one person that looked past the fact he was an absolute monster_

 _And now, come to find out, she'd resigned because his uncle told her she had no standing in the company._

" _Hoshiko's work has been featured in international magazines, won awards, been featured in movies and at renowned celebrity award shows and you told her that she wasn't good enough?"_

 _His uncle just looked ill. Julius pursed his lips, tilting his head, "I don't think you're that dumb a business man, uncle. You don't go throwing away the ones bringing in the big money for you."_

 _He turned to his aunt and glared, "So why?"_

 _Mira shrugged, "I just thought it'd be better for you if you didn't have to see her."_

" _Better? For me?" he laughed bitterly, "There you go again, thinking you know what's best for me."_

" _Julius-" the woman started in a tone he knew well._

 _Too bad that was over. "Shut it. I know the truth. I know that you didn't spend a damn dime on me, Aunt."_

 _Mira stared at him, wide-eyed, "What-"_

" _The money my 'father' gave you a year was enough to take care of me for five years of my life. So really, I guess that other money you used for things like, oh, this company" he said airily, "It did pop up quite randomly, I must say. And that Vanille kind of started to fail once I was out of college always puzzled me…but I guess when the handouts stopped, it didn't have anything to fall back on."_

 _Mira gaped at him and he gave her a look, full of anger and disappointment. "You made me feel like I was just a troublesome…bother to you. Maybe. Maybe since I was a child that you never wanted, that you had to care for me, that's true. I thank you for taking care of me…but how dare you make me feel like I-I cost you all this money when you didn't make a CENT of it?"_

 _Mira grew pale and he grabbed the slip of paper from his briefcase, sliding it across his uncle's desk, "The checks I gave you, I want at least half of it back. I'm not being stingy, I just need the extra cash since I'll be resigning as well."_

" _Julius!"_

" _I'm leaving now. I hope you two will be well."_

 _Wandering away, his heart ached. It was that kind of ache that he got from time to time and would lead him to run to Hoshiko and just…cling to her._

… _What the hell had he done?_

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _One would think that when you had a break up like that, you'd probably never see that person again._

 _Well, not with his luck._

 _Julius waited in the pharmacy for his prescription and stared at the front of a fashion magazine. There was a model as the centerfold but on the corner was a decent sized picture of her and the designer of a popular clothes line. Her who?_

… _His kitten._

 _He stared at the picture and even read the article. It made him smile despite himself. She'd won some pretty huge awards at her new job and was even appearing in magazines. Inaba Carrie wore one of her designs to the Oscars in America and, well, that was like the must haves of the year. Knock offs appeared on the street everywhere, even in Japan._

 _He knew his Uncle Eo was kicking himself._

 _She…was alive without him, he thought absently. He wished he could say the same._

 _Right now, he was just doing some salaryman work. Stuff he swore he'd never do but, somehow, his creativity for the jewelry world died when his heart did. Figured. It had been a year and five months._

 _Paying the pharmacist what he owed, he wandered back to his apartment, setting the brown bag on the coffee table and slamming down on the couch. Rubbing his temple, he went through his messages._

 _Three calls from his aunt, one from that Sue lady, and his other pharmacist._

 _Why he was delusional enough to wish that she'd call, he wouldn't know but he hoped. Daily._

 _If he'd went over it a million times in his head how he'd tell her the truth he'd have wondered why he hadn't thought about it more. He'd tell her that he had anger issues, all stemming from what happened in his childhood. In hopes of maybe just one day catching up with her, he'd even gotten therapy. They'd helped a lot and he'd learned that the anger was a mechanism. He fought to keep people away from him so he couldn't get hurt again._

… _No dip._

 _But most of all, he'd tell her about what he learned, about how he felt, how it just dug up the sh-tty side of him. He'd tell her she was right, that he had hurt her so many times, so MANY times, and that he didn't expect her to forgive him. Just he needed her to know that he hadn't lied to her. That he meant he wanted to be with her, that she was everything he had, that he trusted her, and that God, God, he loved her._

… _Regardless, now, because he didn't know how to handle his emotions back then, because nothing in him said 'maybe you don't need to be this way', she was gone._

 _Staring at his reflection near his phone, he grabbed his bag and headed towards his bedroom after pouring himself a glass of red wine._

… _From time to time, he wished he had made his father's wish come true._

 _That he had never existed._

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" _Shimizu, are you gay?"_

 _Julius sent his coworker a scathing look that the man either missed or was too dumb to care about. It was late on a Thursday and the two were just returning from a long evening meeting. He hated that he couldn't leave once he was just…done for the day anymore. But again, no creativity._

" _I am not gay" he stated plainly._

 _The man just looked puzzled, "But you don't have a girlfriend-"_

" _Do I need one?" Julius questioned coolly._

" _Well, not necessarily, but it must get lonely."_

 _Julius rubbed his forehead and shrugged. Sure as hell it did but how was that any of his business?_

" _Like, do you notice women?"_

 _Julius glared, "NO."_

" _Dude! …Ah! What about HER? She is SO hot!"_

 _Julius followed his gaze, just to humor and get him to shut up…and his heart skipped about twenty beats._

"… _Hoshiko" he rasped._

" _Huh?"_

 _She was standing at the subway stop, wearing a long cute coat and a pair of fuzzy boots. She'd cut her hair pretty short but it was REALLY adorable. She had like curls that shaped around her head and a beret._

… _His Hoshi._

 _Staring, heart beating crazily, he bit his lip and ran over without a second thought. God, he'd already lost her too many times before but this time? This time, no!_

 _Stopping, panting, he rasped out loudly, "Hoshiko!"_

 _The woman looked up, shock written all over her face, and stared at him… "…Julius."_

 _Fighting the desire to pull her into his arms and just beg forgiveness, he swallowed, "…Hey."_

" _Hey…"_

 _She looked at him before smiling nervously, tucking a hair back, "Uh, wow, this is awkward…"_

" _A little…" he allowed softly._

 _Hoshiko glanced at him and folded her hands in front of her again, asking after a moment, "…How have you been?"_

 _To tell her the truth or not. If he was honest, he'd sound pretty desperate, "Uh…decent."_

" _How is RD?" she asked faintly._

 _Julius frowned, shaking his head, "I don't know. I resigned the same day you did and haven't really spoken to my aunt or uncle since."_

 _This seemed to catch her attention and she gaped, glancing at him, "What? You left? What are you doing now then?"_

" _Normal salary sales stuff" he shrugged awkwardly._

 _She tilted her head at him before looking away, mumbling, "…But that's not you at all."_

" _I know."_

 _Staring at the sky, he pursed his lips, "H-Hoshiko, I…"_

" _Don't do this, Julius."_

 _He glanced at her, startled, and found her gazing straight forward. Julius felt his heart in his throat and laughed airily, anxiously. "R-right. I'm…I'm sorry."_

 _She glanced at him and shook her head, kneading her hands, and he felt horrified when her subway started to pull up. No! He was losing this opportunity! He'd never see her again like this!  
_

" _Well, it was nice seeing you again…" she murmured, starting to walk away again._

" _Hoshiko!" he blurted._

 _She sighed and stopped, glancing at him, as he closed his eyes, "I'm not going to make an excuse. I messed up. I messed up bad. And-and I'm not even asking you for another chance, I just-I…did lie…and…and I want to make that right. I-I want to tell you what happened…not-not that it'll still even matter to you."_

" _Juli-"_

" _D-don't even answer, okay? I'm…I'm off tomorrow. I'll be at The Village' all day and night, okay? Just…just if…if you can, please…come by so we…can talk…" he rasped, "If…if you don't come, I'll understand and…and I'll…never bother you like this again."_

 _She just gazed at him and sighed, climbing on the subway. He stared after the moving train and his coworker came beside him, amazed._

" _Wow! You're so bold, just walking up to a woman like that!"_

"… _Yea."_

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… _She wasn't going to come._

 _He sat, staring dazedly at his laptop. He'd played enough text twist that the words were starting to repeat, enough Scrabble that he's actually been able to beat the computer on Expert, checked his social network pages like five times for the last eight hours every hour, looked at all his pictures and videos, watched music videos on random…_

… _Yea, she wasn't coming._

 _He smiled bitterly, upset. But why should she? Why did he think he deserved another chance? Why would she give him the time of day after he hurt her not once, not twice, but three times for basically the same exact thing? She was being smart. Just part of him would never be able to get over the fact that he lost the one woman he loved so much. The one woman that he'd, despite his asshole utterances, did trust._

 _Staring out the window, he thought for a moment he knew what his mother felt that fateful night. What was the use of doing anything anymore? It just all went wrong._

 _Pursing his lips, swallowing the hot lump in his throat, he started to put his bag away, truly miserable. He needed to sleep, he thought vaguely._

 _He frowned when footsteps raced through the establishment and looked up. His heart raced when she stopped beside the table, gasping for air, looking winded._

" _You're…you're still here…" she rasped._

 _Wordless, he nodded, and she panted as she slammed down at the seat across from him, dropping her chin to her chest for a moment. He stared at her before flagging down the waitress to get her some sweet tea. Swallowing, she nodded a 'thanks' when it was dropped off to her, guzzling down half of the pitcher at ease._

" _I-I just got off work" she finally was able to say, wiping her forehead._

 _He grimaced. Damn it. "I'm sorry, I-I guess I got caught in a time loop. I forgot we don't work at the same times anymore."_

 _She just waved a hand and drank her tea, whispering, "I…wasn't sure I was going to come anyway."_

" _I can understand that" he murmured._

 _She folded her hands on the table and leveled him with a look, "I…I wanted to mean what I said, Julius. I wanted to mean that I wouldn't put up with this anymore, that you'd forget about me because I was going to forget about you."_

"… _But?"_

 _Hoshiko stared at the ice floating in her drink before looking back at him seriously, "…I saw you again. And…I'd been thinking about you recently."_

 _He pinked, mumbling shyly, "Just recently? I've thought about you every day."_

 _Hoshiko grimaced and leaned back, staring outside, "…It…hasn't been easy."_

 _Giving him an attentive look, she sat back up, "But I realized that I haven't been settled about anything. And…and if you feel you can tell me what went wrong, then I'll listen. Just…just I hope you know nothing will probably come of it."_

 _He nodded glumly, "I know. I screwed up too many times already."_

 _Hoshiko sighed, "So, what was going on?"_

 _Swallowing, he didn't really know where to start. Well, the key to a good story was to hook your audience._

" _I had found out who my dad is." Seemed like a start._

 _She gaped at him, "…Really?"_

 _Julius nodded and tapped his fingertips, looking away, "…Remember the business trip to China? He…he was there. I was talking to him when you called and were yelling about Roomi…"_

 _Hoshiko looked horrified, "Oh my God! I'm-I'm sorry, I was just calling you to be petty and-"_

" _Don't worry, I didn't know he was my dad by that point" he smiled sadly, "Honestly, I wish I still didn't know."_

 _Leaning back, he swallowed and murmured, "…Um, he…he had an affair with my mother, like I'd told you before. And…and yea, I knew all that, as did you. What I didn't know was he was paying a huge amount of child support for me until I was…well, at RD."_

 _Hoshiko tilted her head before having the epiphany, gaping, "Your aunt."_

" _-Was just using that money and pretended she was the one that was making it for me. There was so much of it, she probably used it to start the companies" he shook his head bitterly, "…She lied to me, Hoshiko. She pretended that-that I owed her so much but truth be told, I-I'd have felt grateful to her regardless. She still had to put the effort into raising me…but she didn't have to make me feel like trash for being born and my mother-"_

 _He broke off and was a tad alarmed when Hoshiko suddenly touched his hand, looking at him, "I understand, Julius. That'd be upsetting to me too."_

 _Wincing, he nodded and smiled awkwardly, "Yea."_

" _So…did your dad ever come to see you after you found out?"_

 _His smiled melted and he bowed his head. Hoshiko whispered, "What happened?"_

" _Mm, part of the…'child support' was 'hush money'…I…I was to be a secret to everyone because…he was married, naturally."_

 _Hoshiko frowned, "…But-"_

" _And ha, here's the extremely ironic part: Kotomi, Roomi's sister, had come by to tell me to stay away because we share the same father" he laughed anxiously._

 _Hoshiko gawked, "…What?"_

" _I guess your brother was right; Roomi is my half-sister…" he sighed heavily, "It was startling, as you could imagine."_

" _Oh…oh my God! That's-that's so WEIRD!" Hoshiko exclaimed, "How-I-oh my God!"_

" _Yea, that was my feelings on it too once it settled in" he smiled sadly, "…I was…so angry, Hoshiko."_

 _She stared at him as he closed his eyes, "I don't- I don't know. I mean, it's petty, it's childish, but-but I never had a family. I had my aunt and uncle but…but I didn't have any brothers or-or sisters or anything like you have. Always I told myself I had enough as it is, that I didn't need that."_

 _His lip trembled, all the memories getting to him, "But…but finding out that I-I had a family, that I had two siblings, had a father, and that-that he just wanted to keep me a secret as to not ruin his perfect life, it hurt. It hurt like hell, Hoshi, and-and I don't know."_

 _He looked at her sadly, "It-it wasn't like I would have wanted to live with them…but he-he sat with me at that meeting, he pretended as if he didn't know who I was even after telling him my name. I'm-I'm nothing to him but a flaw that threatens his dynasty. I'm-I'm…a mistake…"_

" _No!"_

 _Julius jumped, a tad startled by the heated look Hoshiko gave him, "You are not a mistake! Your mother and father made a decision and-and for him to just treat you like-like some bill or something with a margin line, it's unforgivable! How dare he?! And-and he even tries to keep you away from your siblings! It makes me so mad!"_

 _His shoulders slouched and he sighed, "…That's what I felt. And…and because I have issues, I…I took it out on you."_

 _She stopped her tirade and stared at him as he smiled weakly, "I-I realized that thinking that everyone was out to get me, that I couldn't trust anyone, that's-that's why I was alone. Why it took therapy to figure that out, I'll never know, but…it did."_

 _He stared glumly at his fists, "I just…wish I'd done it sooner so I wouldn't have lost you."_

 _Hoshiko stared at him before shaking her head, "Julius, I-"_

" _I'm not saying all this to get you back, Hoshiko, I just…I just couldn't stand what your last words to me were" he sighed miserably, "I…I didn't lie about any of it. I wanted a future with you. I wanted to be able to tell you everything and most of all, I-"_

 _He paused when she lifted a finger to his lips and gazed at him, "That's enough, Julius. I understand."_

 _Julius stared at her, wishing for the life of him that they'd worked out. She gave him a timid look as she glanced away._

" _I'm…busy right now, Julius, but…at-at least, let's be friends, okay?"_

 _He gave her a 'seriously?' look and she groaned, "I know, we tried that before. Either we don't see each other or we're messing around, there's no in between but…but I'll admit, I regretted not…trying more to get underneath that wall you built. I knew you had moments like that-"_

" _No, you were right to leave. You had absolutely no reason to take my abuse like that. You didn't deserve a second of it" he whispered._

 _Feeling his body tense, he looked up at her, straight in the eye, "I'm not asking for another chance, Hoshiko, I have no right too. But…if you ever felt that…we could be together again, I'd…I'd have it no other way."_

 _She just groaned and shook her head, "That's too much to think about right now, Julius."_

" _You know, I guess we were in hate mode before but when your hair is short like that it really brings out your eyes. They're pretty."_

" _Julius, I'm serious" she sulked, "I'm in a good place right now and I swore off relationships again."_

" _Did I mention I love the hair style too?"_

" _Julius!"_

" _I hear you, Hoshiko, but I don't want to" he sighed, slumping back against the seat, "I want my kitten back."_

 _She blushed cutely and grumbled, "I definitely don't want that nickname back."  
_

" _You know you miss being bunny."_

 _She laughed, "Definitely don't miss that one."_

 _Ordering something, she smiled faintly, "…I haven't been here in a year now, since my brother left."_

 _Julius stared, very puzzled, "…He left?"_

 _Hoshiko stared at him before shrugging. He ordered a cup of coffee, "No, I want to hear about everything."_

"… _It's a long story."_

" _I want to catch up" he said simply, "…And I want to hear about life with you since I got myself kicked out of it."_

" _You know, you say you aren't trying to but you're laying it on a bit thick" she said with a smile._

" _That's just how I roll."_

 _She chuckled and looked outside, "…I guess I wouldn't mind some chatting."_

… _Julius knew then he just didn't deserve it. But from every night forward he prayed that they could be more again._

 _But then in the morning he remembered that he was nothing and that she deserved better._

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' _What ARE you doing, Hoshiko?'_ she asked herself absently as she walked up the steps to Julius' apartment, carrying a bag.

…It had been a month.

The day Hoshiko left Roshinko Day was considerably the worst day in her existence. Her brother, Roomi, her job, and Julius all seemed to manage to disappear. It just…wasn't good times.

After a good few weeks of self-loathing, she got back on her feet, looked for a job, and found one within a company her grandmother slightly owned. And boy, had she flourished there. She was a little worried about starting anew but she had friends there like she had had at Roshinko Day. And, in fact, she still kept up with those friends too.

She grimaced as she knocked at the door. She met up with Hiro. He said he'd heard her and Julius yelling through the door because he'd been worried about her. He told her she deserved much better and that, if she'd let him, he'd offer it. Why, she didn't know, but she tried it and it just felt weird. One, he was more like a brother and, well, _friend_ , than a boyfriend. Somehow, though she'd tried dating others, she ended up comparing it to her relationship with…

Julius opened the door and stared at her, surprised, "My, this is unexpected."

Hoshiko frowned, tilting her head, "Were you going to bed?"

He shook his head and let her in, "No, it's just a little cluttered, is all."

"That's fine" she assured, setting down some food, "I just thought I'd make some dinner. All I've seen you eat while I was hanging out here is processed crap."

He stuck out his tongue, "That's the good stuff."

"If you say so" she snorted.

She hummed as she started to make some pasta. She might add some squash to his, since it was his favorite, the freak.

Hoshiko squeaked when arms wrapped around her waist. Julius nuzzled her neck with his nose and groaned, "Oh, thank God…"

"W-what?" she demanded, flustering.

"You still smell like wildflowers…" he murmured absently.

She flushed and elbowed him, "Well, if you're done confirming my scent-"

"How about taste?"

"Julius!"

He grinned and wandered off when his phone rang. She pursed her lips and sighed. He was such a tease. Candy asked how on Earth she'd been able to forgive him.

When Julius seemed to want to reaffirm that he did indeed love her, she interrupted. If she'd heard that then she'd probably have just jumped into the relationship again. She wanted to be more practical than that…

But, after all those relationships, she swore them off. Not because of the same reasons she had prior…

…But because she'd not gotten over him.

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"Mm…"

She blinked as Julius slumped after his third helping, rubbing his belly, "That was _awesome._ "

Hoshiko smiled and stood, taking his plate, but squeaked when he caught her wrist instead, pulling her into his lap, giving her a serious look. "Marry me."

She snickered and tried to pull away but he held her tighter, "I'm _serious_!"

"Yea, seriously drunk" she snorted.

"Mm, you're the one that gave me wine though."

Hoshiko smiled and paused leaning forward before stopping, stunned. He looked at her and smiled toothily, "Go ahead, I definitely won't complain."

She flushed and started to pull away but he held her in place. Staring at him, she pursed her lips before she gave him a chaste kiss on his lips. He glowered and grasped her tighter, kissing her passionately. Hoshiko blushed but didn't necessarily push away…

He groaned and pulled back, whispering, "God, I missed that…"

She blushed and looked away, "…Julius…"

Picking her up and setting her on the couch, he smiled and kissed her forehead, "I'll get the dishes, puffin."

"Puffin?" she demanded incredulously.

"Never mind, that'll be the name for our baby" he sighed, patting her belly.

She cocked a brow but smiled, "I…guess?"

He nodded solemnly and wandered off as she sighed, slumping. Of course, it didn't seem like she had to get over him. He seemed intent that they get back together.

…Maybe that wasn't bad?

She turned on the television and glanced at the stand for the lamp. Eyes narrowing, she noted something poking out, like it'd just been hastily thrown in.

Carefully opening the door, not wanting to pry but curious, she pulled out a bottle of pills. She scowled, reading the label. Sleeping pills?

…Weird.

Replacing it in the drawer, she smiled quickly as he came back, holding a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. Sitting down next to her, he poured her some white wine, handing her the glass.

"…Hoshi."

"Hmm?"

"Are you comfortable with this?"

She blushed and rested her cheek against his shoulder, "It's…nice."

He kissed her forehead and hugged her close. She sighed, wondering why she was becoming a lovesick sap again…

…But…

"Julius, did you tell me everything?" she smiled at him questioningly.

"Mm? Yea, why?" he frowned thoughtfully.

"Oh, it's just that…nothing" she shook her head.

"Are we moving too fast?" he asked faintly, "Because I understand if we are. I just…I've missed holding you like this so much."

"I think…this is just fine. But let's leave the making out and fondling alone for a while" she smiled.

"Darn…"

She snickered and rested against him as he clicked on a movie before glancing at the drawer.

Somehow, she thought maybe more was going on with that than she'd let on and more than Julius told her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…Was she on to him?

Frowning as he wandered towards her new apartment, he was confused. They usually hung out at his apartment. Why exactly were they moving to hers now? Not that he really did mind, it meant they were kind of returning to how things once were.

…Except when she invited him over, he got the idea she had ulterior motives.

Knocking, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. Well, whatever. He smiled when she pushed the door open.

"Hey" she greeted, allowing him in.

"Hey" he returned, handing her the flowers he saw along the way absently, gazing around her new place. It wasn't quite as boring as Hoshiko had kept her last apartment. It was a lot more colorful.

"Ooh, they're so pretty" she cooed, kissing his cheek chastely before going into the kitchen.

He glanced after her, feeling rather awkward, as she called, "Have a seat! I hope you're hungry, I made a casserole!"

"Mm, a little" he sighed, rubbing his eyes, "I had an awful day at work."

Hoshiko called from the kitchen, "What happened?"

"Just a lot of stuff went wrong" he slumped, shaking his head, "Just how it is out in the real world."

"'Real world'?"

"I think when we were in RD, it was a fantasy" he sighed vaguely, "We were…artists. We were creative, we drew what popped in our head, showed it to Eo, then we were done for the day…"

"So I don't have a real job, huh?"

He groaned, "I don't mean that. I just guess I was living my dream then. Anything else just seems real."

Hoshiko wandered out, wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing and sat down beside him, grasping his shoulders and rubbing, massaging the tense muscles. Closing his eyes, he murmured.

"…I love this, I hope you know."

"I bet."

He opened his eyes faintly and smiled vaguely, "Was there something wrong, Hoshi? You, uh, seemed to have something in mind when you invited me over."

Hoshiko sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, having him turn to face her as she stared into his eyes firmly, "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

His eyes widened and glanced away, muttering, "W-what do you mean?"

"You used to have a lot of trouble sleeping and I did all I could to make it easier for you" she said, her eyes briefly shifting before stilling, "…And I've been gone."

Giving her a nonverbal answer, he swiftly stood and wandered over to the window, his hands stuffed into the pocket of his work suit. Hoshiko grimaced and stood, walking towards him cautiously.

"Julius, I'm not attacking you, don't think that."

"I know that" he whispered silently.

"You can tell me anything, I won't judge you."

Julius was silently contemplating before shrugging, "…I was okay for a month or two after we broke up. I-I mean, I _guezz_ I was, I drank a lot so maybe I didn't notice."

She winced as he continued, "But soon, I just started getting bothered by everything. My mother, my aunt, my father…you. Soon, I just found myself going to bed at like 10 and lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and hearing my alarm and not having been to sleep."

Scratching his head, he shrugged, "I thought it would go away so I got some sleeping pills for my insomnia and, before I knew it, I was…"

He stopped and she grabbed his arm, biting her lip, "What?"

"…Hooked" he mumbled, glancing away, "…I…I need them to pretty much _live._ And that, that started getting me depressed. So, I started mixing pills with alcohol…"

"Julius!" 

He just looked away and Hoshiko buried her face in her hands, "Do you have _any_ idea how dangerous that is?! My brother did that and he blacked out!"

"I…I know…"

She pursed her lips and he gazed at her miserably… "…I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

"No" she said plainly, "Just I'll beat you up if you continue doing that. We're going to get you off those pills too."

He sighed and Hoshiko grasped his shoulders, pulling him down and giving him a kiss. Julius blushed and she pulled away, pinking herself, "Mm, let me check on dinner. You relax."

Julius nodded but caught her elbow, giving her another kiss, whispering, "…I think I can sleep better knowing I can kiss you like that again."

Hoshiko pressed her lips to his cheek before gasping, "Oh no, the casserole!"

He chuckled as she ran away, following.

…He really was a bit weirded out that he actually told her that. Really, he'd wanted to defeat that addiction so he wouldn't have to let her know. But, maybe it would be easier with her on his side.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…Or so he'd believed.

He sat on his couch late at night, staring at the television with the cheesy infomercials and wondered how on Earth it got so bad.

It was probably two in the morning and he was on his third week of not taking pills. Truth be told, it was easier said than done. The pills just made it so easy. They were so relaxing and a glass of wine with it? He was out like a light until his alarm clock rang. Hoshiko's brother just did it wrong.

But he soon noted something that gravely disturbed him. He found that, well, he liked them because they actually made it capable for him to sleep. But he found that he started to miss the high too. He had no idea he was getting high off those meds. That more than anything made him want to quit.

And, well, his Hoshi.

Stroking his hair back, he sighed and clicked off the television. Whatever, he thought miserably, he could just try to go and lie in bed. It was better than nothing.

He frowned as his phone rang and blinked. Hoshiko? Probably was making sure he wasn't stoned or something. Clicking the green button, he sighed, dropping into bed.

"I haven't succumbed to temptation yet, kitten, but it's getting really, really hard."

She giggled. His eyes widened and he cocked a brow, "…Uh, you okay?"

"Uh huh!" she said giddily.

Oh God, she was drunk. "Where are you, kitten?"

"I like puppies more."

"Well, I'm not calling you a dog. Now are you at home or Moe's Tavern?"

"I'm in my apartment" she giggled, "You should come over so we can play!"

He loved how innuendoish she got when she was tipsy. "Oh honey, I should but it's a little late."

"Pooh…" she sighed.

Julius couldn't help smile as he heard the hinges on her mattress continually squeak, "Uh, what are you doing…?"

"Jumping on the bed. I'm putting glow in the dark stars on the ceiling!"

He laughed, knowing those would be gone as soon as she got her head on straight again, "That's adorable, cutie."

"Anyway! I wanted to call you and see if you're free tomorrow."

"Mm, after work, yea."

"Oh, there was a movie I really wanted to see…"

Julius scratched his stomach and yawned, his eyes closing partially, "We can see a late night one. Stay up all night, get some ice-cream and swim in the river…"

"That sounds fun" she said happily.

"Then it's a date" he smiled, his eyes closing before his lips parted, "…Hey, call me before bed time, kay?"

"Why?"

"…I dunno. It's soothing" he murmured.

"Okay" she said seriously, "Every night!"

"Until we start sleeping together again anyway."

Hoshiko squealed, "Yay, sleep over!"

"Oh, it'll be a sleep over all right…" he chuckled, "Though I don't think I'd mind that either if I could wake up with you."

She sighed airily and the squeaking finally stopped, "I's sleepy, Julius."

He turned on his side and smiled faintly, finally drifting to sleep. "…Yea, me too. Thank you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Julius jolted when his doorbell rang rapidly, wide-eyed. Holy crap, was he just asleep?

Sitting up, still alarmed, he rubbed the back of his neck. Wow, non-medicated sleep was weirder than he remembered. It felt like he was floating on a feather somewhere, having weird whispery dreams. Or maybe his body just made its own natural drugs. Either way.

Scowling, he crawled out of bed and glowered. Someone ruined his flowery, happy, hippy sleep. Stumbling towards the door, he glanced at the clock. Well, it was 7. He got a pretty solid five hours of sleep, he thought proudly. Opening his door, he opened his mouth and faltered…

"I've given you nearly two years of space and I _still_ haven't heard from you!"

"Aunt…"

She pushed past him and he sulked. Great way to start his normal non-medicated sleep day. The woman headed straight for the cabinet and he tensed. Mira opened it and looked alarmed.

…He kind of destroyed the shrine a bit. Shattering the frame, breaking the incense holder, tossing the incense itself everywhere.

"This is horrible!" she nearly shrieked, "How could you do this to your mother's shrine!?"

He shrugged indifferently, slamming down on his couch, "How could she not leave me any signs about who my father is? Or hey, take money from him to keep me a secret, how about that?"

Mira stared at him before clearing her throat and reaching into her purse, pulling out a…flash drive, maybe? "…Your mother, she took pictures and…and wrote letters to you before she killed herself."

Julius jaw ticked, "Oh really? I don't think we _had_ a computer…"

Mira stared at the device, setting it on the table, "…We…we did badly by you, Julius. You were right, the excess money, it was…it was our incentive, I suppose. We certainly weren't lacking in the money area but-but I…I don't know, it was…wrong."

Standing, she started to walk towards the door and paused, "…I…sent those letters to Eo when you graduated college, thinking maybe I could milk some more out of him. He simply said: 'don't mess with me'. He kept the real letters and pictures but luckily, I'd copied them."

Julius gaped and she shrugged, "…Sorry."

Letting herself out, Julius looked up and swallowed. So instead of giving the letters to _him,_ the intended recipient, she gives them to his father to swindle more money out of him?

Throat tightening, he nearly slung the USB drive across the room…but stopped and sighed glumly, wandering off to grab his laptop. Settling back in on his couch, he put the device into the computer, thankful it had such an ancient port in the first place.

PDF files popped up with some JPEGs mixed in. Blinking, he figured he'd start with the letters. Opening the one marked with the earlier date, he rubbed his temple.

 _Dear Juls,_

 _I write to you at a crossroads in my life. A point where I don't know where I'm going or what I'm going to do. The direction I'm leaning towards, the path that makes the most 'sense' to me is one I always could never understand. Not until I reached this point, that is._

 _To be honest, sweetie, I'd kind of hoped for a girl. You ask me all the time about your father, who he is, where he is, when would he come back. A son needs that father figure. Girls do need that figure but somehow I feel it'd be more needed for a son. And still, don't get me wrong, you're the only male that's ever been stable in my life. I think part of my anxiety was that you'd leave me one day too._

Julius couldn't help but wince sharply at that. That kind of hurt. Shaking it off, he scrolled down to continue.

 _Perhaps I'm being extremely paranoid. But my dad left us early and your grandmother remarried a man that was just awful. I think I'd rather be in this situation than in that one, honestly. He was an abusive man so maybe I'm glad you're not a girl. Ah! This is so complicated._

 _Julius, I think when you look back on your childhood, you're going to think that, well, I lied to you. And for the most part, I did, I won't make any excuses. But I thought I'd hurt you if I told you about your father._

 _His name is 'Seiwa Shirou'. He works as an assistant CEO at Niwa Industries. They do a lot of work in buying stocks and such. I was a secretary there. Your father, he was unhappy. His wife was a hair designer that traveled around with movie stars or models or whatever else. He usually traveled around too but, for once, he was settled in Japan. He was lonely and tried to convince his wife to take a break as well. She refused and he threatened divorce. I don't think his wife was going to stand for it, mind you, but he was serious. I was his personal secretary so I suppose in his sadness, he started to confide in me._

 _It happens a lot more than people want to let on. They treat it as something absolutely taboo but secretaries do take care of needs. My greatest regret is that I created the misconception to you that I was in love with him. I just needed the money, I cut ties with my family. I had to do everything I could to make it without them._

 _I'll never really understand 'why?'. When I confessed to Shirou I was pregnant, he just was so angry and upset. He demanded I get an abortion. It would have, as horrible as it sounds, been the feasible thing to do. I was barely able to get ends to meet on my own but a baby? But somehow, I couldn't. I wonder if I failed you somehow in that._

Julius swallowed.

 _I ended my internship around then. I heard later that Shirou and his wife had reconciled and were actually expecting another baby themselves. Even though it was fantastical thinking, I thought it'd be so adorable if you two were born close to each other, if you had a little playmate. But Shirou had other ideas. He paid me huge amounts of money to keep us quiet, your very existence quiet. Your aunt, my sister, Mira, said I should have exploited him for all he was worth. But when you were born, I remember looking into your eyes and thinking, 'any man that wants to pretend this doesn't exist isn't worth my time'. And what Shirou and I had, it was an accident that wasn't meant to be. You were my only light from that._

 _If things go as I planned, you'll find out about all this at maybe eighteen or so. I don't want you to spend a considerable amount of your life thinking I was a complete moron, the mother that didn't do anything right. But maybe that wouldn't change either._

 _You probably wonder why we were so poor if your father paid us. As I said, I wouldn't let a man that wanted to pretend you didn't exist play into your life. I kept the money, it's in an account that should be kept by whoever is your guardian. I was going to give it to you when you were old enough so you could decide what to do with it. I mean, it was for you, maybe you can buy a house or a business. Or if you get married one day, have a big wedding. Or if you have kids, you'd have college pretty much paid off for them._

Julius looked up for a moment and closed his eyes.

Twenty years ago. He remembered a dilly woman; a woman caught in a dream about living in a mansion with her wondrous husband and he'd have everything he ever needed. But sitting here now, remembering? In retrospect, in actually _remembering_ for himself and not being _forced_ to remember…

He did ask a lot, didn't he? Why was he so different? Why didn't he have a dad? Why this, why that? And the times he asked, the times he remembered, she herself never gave him those ideas. She hadn't lived in a fantasy, she just wanted to humor him, keep him innocent, naïve. He had been. But where'd he get that idea that she was dumb, that she lived in a dream that would never happen?

His aunt.

His stomach twisted a bit at remembering that he used to get so angry with her. She spoke rather ill of his mother, saying she was stupid for not taking everything she possibly could or living in near poverty when she didn't have to. He aggressively had told her that his mother was smart and that, well, she'd come back. Coincidentally, a therapy session later, he seemed rather compliant with believing everything his aunt said too.

Clenching his head, he shook it. What was wrong with him? Why was it like this? Was that memory even correct? It had to have been though, he remembered getting angry over his aunt badmouthing his deceased mother. But then why was the woman so adamant that he have that shrine and respect her memory when she worked to destroy it? It didn't make sense!

Reading on, he grew more and more sick. He stopped when he thought he was literally going to vomit and decided to look at the pictures like that was supposed to make it better. There were baby pictures. His mother, whenever he pictured her, he saw just darkness and anger. That picture that had been in his shrine had been a lie, possibly taken in a singular moment of sorrow. Swallowing the burning lump, he stared at the pictures of her. She looked like she could have been a teenager holding him as a baby, smiling happily. The woman was young, vibrant for such a situation, and happy?

He smiled, depressed, at the picture of him dressed like a Moogle. Impressively done considering they were so poor but…

He stared at the last letter, wondering if he could even bear to read it but clicked it, rubbing his sore throat. Whatever…

 _I know you'll be angry at me, baby. I'd be angry at me too. But I want you to understand I think it's what's best for you. I want you to have a better life than I had. I don't know where I came to the realization that I was just leading you into the same life but it had to be the blanket._

Julius frowned. The blanket?

…The blanket?

 _You wanted it so bad, remember? Transformers was your favorite cartoon and when we went shopping and you saw it, you pleaded for it. You never asked me for anything. You weren't a needy child and I always was proud of you for that. But I think in everyone's life they want something. And you wanted a simple blanket and I couldn't even buy it for you._

Julius frowned. What? He got that blanket. In fact, it was in a box in his closet somewhere.

 _If I just USED the money your father gave us, my God, you could have a whole room dedicated to Transformers, the whole set! But I was proud. Too proud for my own good. I should have known when to quit._

He bit his lip. No…

 _But I swore that on my own sweat and tears and blood I'd get you that blanket. So I started saving. It was then that I realized just how bad off we were. I got us necessities. I was able to pay for food for the both of us, pay our rent and utilities, and keep us clothed in the cheapest things ever and I barely had a piece left to show for it after. It disturbed me._

 _Nevertheless, I started taking odd jobs around the building. Running errands, folding laundry, what-so have you. I worked diligently at that goal because it was the one thing you'd ever asked for. I wanted to get that for my little boy._

 _When I finally got it, it was about three or four months after you'd asked. You were so happy. You made tents and forts and everything with it. But when I saw you with it, it just made me sad. It took me four months, close to half a year, to get my son a 400 piece blanket._

 _I wanted you to live the good life! I wanted you to be dressed in clothes I didn't get from donation places and have brand new toys! I wanted you to live a happy life! Not a life where I had to become everything from the dishwasher to the delivery driver to get you a 400 piece blanket. A blanket. It wasn't even a toy or new clothes or anything spectacular, just a blanket._

 _Part of me hopes that they'll place you with my brother. Mira has her husband. Eo, I suppose, but Mira has a way of making one feel inadequate. I've probably already made you feel like that. You must be wondering why I just didn't give you away._

 _Because I couldn't. Because if I gave you up, I'd want you back. If I did manage to leave you somewhere, I'd be depressed. It was my selfishness. It was my selfishness and my failure. I just couldn't go on knowing that I couldn't give you everything. I want you to have better._

 _Don't ever go a day thinking that I didn't love you. You were the most precious thing to ever happen to me, Juls. And the only reason I can't face you again is because I couldn't give you everything and I couldn't give you away to have it. No matter what, I want you to have everything._

 _I hope they won't let you forget me. A part of you will always be with me. And it comforts me to think that maybe you can feel the same one day._

 _Don't live with regrets,_

 _Mama_

Julius sat staring at the screen for the longest time before setting it on his coffee table and rising to his feet.

…Did she honestly think he cared about that?

Did she _honestly_ think he cared about fancy clothes or fancy toys or anything like that?! Did she really think he even _needed_ that blanket? If he thought it was going to cost him his _mother,_ he wouldn't have even looked at it!

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he clenched his ears, ringing with the rushing blood. His mother killed herself and for what? Because they didn't have _everything_? He had his mother. He never went hungry, he was never cold, he was never unhappy! Because they weren't rich or-or anything she thought that mattered?! Why?!

Picking up his phone, he called into work even though he was already late and informed them he was 'ill'. Wasn't far from the truth. He…

He needed to sleep.

Rushing back to his bathroom, he went into his medicine cabinet and snatched out the bottle of sleeping pills, picking up a bottle of bourbon, and went to the living room.

Taking about four or five of the chalky pills with a good number of swigs of the liquor, he leaned back and stroked his hair away from his face. This…this couldn't be happening to him. Why? Why did his aunt do this to him? She could have either thrown the darn thing away or actually given _him_ the letters at eighteen! He was so angry, he thought with a bitter laugh. At everyone. For his mother killing herself so he could have a superfluous life where he couldn't trust the women in it and had to be in constant control so no one could hurt him because she lied to him when in _reality_ she hadn't. Which just happened to be another lie because his Aunt made it out that she was this stupid dumb bimbo that should have robbed his deadbeat father blind but wouldn't because she was madly in love with him. When, in reality, she had a spine and wasn't going to take his damn hush money.

Staring straight ahead, he finally picked up his cell phone. He had to call Hoshiko. Somehow a movie and ice-cream wasn't exactly one of his higher priorities at the moment. She'd probably be pissed, he thought irritably, if she knew he was taking pills. But Hoshiko had a mother and father that loved her, siblings that she could associate with, what the f—k did she know? When had she ever not been able to sleep because the past was haunting her?

Starting to put in her number, he frowned when his vision suddenly became blue. And as soon as it came, it went, the colors exploding in a harsh red as his chest clenched. He tried to scream but it came out as a harsh rasp. Clutching his chest, he managed to press 'send' but his world started to spin and he collapsed, hitting his head against the rough floor. Choking, his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

…He thought he heard a 'hello' somewhere.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _Nn…"_

 _It was cold._

 _Julius forced his eyes open, an exhausting task if any, and was confused. This seemed familiar in a 'once upon a time…' kind of way._

… _This was his old room._

 _It was a dingy white color, his mother having gotten some leftover paint from their super. The floor was a dark yellowed carpet. His bed was just bars and some torn sheets that she sewed back together when the holes got too big._

… _And his new blanket._

 _Turning his head ever so slightly, the only action he was able to manage, his heart jumped to his throat at the figure sitting by his window, smoking a cigarette._

" _...Mama."_

 _The woman jumped and looked over her shoulder, her red eyes wide, hair wild and purple. She was smoking a cigarette._

 _Not that he honestly believed in things, if he was seeing his mother…_

"… _Should you be smoking that here?" he questioned absently._

 _The woman continued to stare at him before saying, "Why not? It's not like it's gonna kill me."_

" _Haha. No."_

" _Aren't we a smartass? I wonder where you get it from" the woman remarked absently._

 _No. He had to be hallucinating, he thought groggily, finally able to sit up, the bed creaking under the movement. Looking at her for a long moment, he grumbled._

" _You're an illusion."_

 _She rolled her eyes, "Am I?"_

" _Uh, yea, you are. You're dead, I can't be seeing you right now" he grunted, rubbing his face._

" _Doesn't mean I'm not here" she murmured._

" _What…?"_

" _I think people have bonds with others, even when they're not even dead, you can feel them. They're always there."_

" _So have you been there? Torturing me so I can't even sleep at night?" he hissed._

 _She gave him a rather heated glare, "Why the hell would I do something like that to my child?"_

 _Julius was actually a little taken back by that… "Well, there has to be something! Besides, you killed yourself with me there, why would torturing my sleep be any different? In fact, seeing that was the main problem!"_

 _The woman rubbed her arms and shook her head, "It was too hasty a decision and too morbid. I could have been more tactful."_

" _Tactful suicide. That's a new one."_

 _His mother sighed and tapped the cigarette against the sill, "I can't make any excuses on that, Juls, I didn't make a lot of good decisions when I was alive. It just was hard."_

"… _How could you honestly think I would care more about living in 'luxury' more than having my MOTHER alive? We wouldn't have had to live like-like this forever! You would have been able to get a better job and-and I could have started supporting you! I didn't need any of what I had when I lived with Aunt Mira!" he exclaimed, emotional._

 _The woman teared up, "I know that, okay? I-I just got depressed and jumped the gun. If I could, I'd-I'd change everything that happened! But I can't. I made my choice and this is what I have to rest with. I…I wish I could change that."_

 _She stared at him and smiled sadly, "…Especially now."_

 _Julius swallowed and she stood, staring at him, "That's why you need to go."_

" _Sick of me already?" he questioned dryly._

" _I'm serious, Julius" she said firmly, "I'm dead. Why do you think you can see me?"_

 _He opened his mouth, saying he was probably high on drugs. Thing was, something about this was bizarrely…lucid. He…didn't believe in things like this but this was starting to look like…_

"… _No" he rasped, growing alarmed._

" _You went into cardiac arrest" she whispered, "They're trying to bring you back now."_

 _He flew to his feet, "I-I can't die!"_

" _I know."_

 _He opened his mouth again before faltering. Wait…_

" _Then…why can't I?"_

 _His mother's brows fused and he slammed back down on the bed, staring at his knees, "…I mean, I have meaningless job, your sister that lied to me my entire life, a father that wants nothing to do with me. What do I have worth living for?"_

" _Julius, you can change things. You know that, right? That's what I had trouble figuring out" the woman said hectically._

" _Why bother…?"_

" _You have to have something!" she blurted._

 _He opened his mouth and scowled. Holding up his right hand, he glared at it. It felt like something was squeezing the hell out of it._

 _His mother grasped his cheeks and forced him to look at her, "…Is that your something?"_

 _Julius frowned, puzzled, before realizing…_

"… _Hoshiko" he said with barely a breath._

… _Oh God, was she beside him? Who was squeezing his hand? Maybe…maybe it was just someone there, he thought quickly._

… _But somehow, he knew…_

"… _I've done such bad things to her because I'm not stable, because I'm crazy" he suddenly wept._

 _His mother kissed his forehead, "Then change that for her. Be happy, go to her, and give me a lot of grandkids."_

 _He pinked a bit and nodded wearily. She smiled and hugged him tightly._

" _I hope…it's okay if I keep that part of you."_

"… _Yea. I…I think I'll keep a part too" he murmured sadly, hugging her back._

"Julius! Please wake up!"

Julius shuddered. The rapid movement stopped and he heard the drone of a flat line start to beep. He couldn't open his eyes but he recognized that bossy voice and gave a weak squeeze back.

"You baka…" she whispered.

Her hand was pulled away as the doctors apparently went to work. It was one of the most physically painful things he could never imagine.

He'd fix this. He…had the chance to.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hoshi, are you ever going to talk to me?" he questioned, still fairly fatigued.

The woman was facing away from him, filing her nails, giving him a cold shrug. He groaned.

"I'll be sad if you don't."

"Funny, I was going to be sad since you weren't ever going to talk to me again. Except in your case it'd be because you were dead!"

He grimaced and she turned to glare at him, upset, "Why? What were you thinking? Were you lying to me?!"

"N-no! I really had quit the drugs, I-I just-I just got depressed today."

Hoshiko just looked upset, "You got depressed? Instead of calling me or something, you just load up on sleeping pills and booze and screw over your heart?"

"I'm sorry…"

Hoshiko bit her lip and looked sad. He hated that so much. Grabbing her hand, he murmured, "…My laptop. It's on the table of my apartment. I want you to…to read what's on that flash drive."

She glowered at him but he stared at her seriously, "Please."

"…Fine" she muttered.

Hoshiko stood, sighing as she wandered out. She'd never been more horrified in her life.

What it was with that man and going into some scary attack over the phone, she wouldn't know, but she ran from her apartment to his quickly after listening, scared senseless, to him wheeze and choke.

She managed to get in with the key he randomly, and thankfully, gave her. Having called the ambulance before she got there, she spent the waiting trying to keep him alive, doing CPR and screaming she'd never ever, ever, _ever_ forgive him if he died.

…She was so scared she lost him.

Picking up the laptop, she wearily went back to the hospital. She thought he was okay and she may have been a little loopy last night but she was really looking forward to their date today. She just didn't think it was going to be canceled because he went into a drug induced heart attack.

Going back into the room, sighing again as he faintly breathed in his sleep, she sat down in the chair beside him. Opening the file, she blinked and decided to look at all the pictures first.

Despite the fact Julius nearly died, she couldn't help smile at the pictures of him as a baby. He was so fat and cute, his hair actually doing this cute little curl bang. His mother loved him dearly, she could see and say that confidently from the pictures.

…So why?

Opening the PDF files though, she couldn't help but feel heart broken.

His mother felt inadequate. Like, she wanted to give her son so much but couldn't manage it no matter how she tried. Like, in the end, nothing really even mattered. That was an awful feeling, she knew. An awful, awful feeling…

She glanced at Julius and felt saddened. For the years they were together, she knew he felt angry towards her and maybe these letters just painted a new perspective on things, things that he hadn't wanted to believe were any different.

"I talked to her when I died."

Hoshiko jumped, alarmed, when he talked, his eyes still closed, "It was like those few moments before she died. She was sitting in my room by my window, smoking a cigarette. She told me she regretted acting so spontaneously. Just that…she was depressed."

She blinked at him and he opened his eyes, "I almost gave up a few hours ago. I told myself I was in a job I didn't want, I had no family to count for, and I was just empty but she pleaded that I had to have a reason to live."

He lifted his hand and frowned thoughtfully, "And then, I felt something pretty much crushing my hand and she asked me if that was what I was supposed to live for."

Hoshiko blushed and looked away, "Julius…"

He reached for her hand, murmuring, "You were the only thing that made me second guess that though."

"…That's a lot to live up to" she mumbled shyly.

Julius smiled and grasped her shoulder, "To the contrary, it's a lot for me to live up to you. I've been a horrible person to you for so long, I…I have to make myself not crazy."

She snorted and rested her cheek against his chest, "You don't have to do anything."

"Of course I do" he said firmly, "I'm going to be the best man I can be for you."

Hoshiko stared at him before he rubbed his face, "I'm…after I'm released, I'll try rehab. I don't know how much good it'll do but it has to be a lot better than me trying to quit cold turkey."

"I'll flush your pills away" she said simply.

"Thanks…"

He pulled and hedged her to lie beside him in the cramped bed but it made him feel better and kind of cozy. Stroking her hair, he glanced down at her.

"Hoshi, if…if I can be a non-hooked-on-meds man without an anger management issue, you know, the type that your mother would kill for trying to get near you, would you have my baby?"

Hoshiko laughed drowsily, "You're so random."

"But I'm serious" he pouted.

"Us as parents though?" she said, her nose wrinkling, "And uh, not to mention we're still in that reconciliation stage."

"Well, when we get past that."

"IF."

"No, when" he grumbled, "You think I'm letting someone take my kitten? Bah."

She chuckled and he rubbed her back, "My mother told me to have a lot of grandkids…"

"Do you really think you talked to her?" Hoshiko asked curiously, "Remember my cousin's husband, Steiner? He had a near death experience and said he met his mother."

"…Yea. I think I did."

Hoshiko continued to gaze at him before resting her ear on his chest, "…I'll try."

"Me too" he agreed.

He found that when he closed his eyes, he saw his mother chasing him away. It wasn't the same frightening nightmare of finding her dead, but her shooing him, laughing and telling him to forget the past. He'd been there too long.

He smiled. Maybe…he didn't miss that part as much as he thought.

He felt a lot better about who had it.

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A moogle is from Final Fantasy and this cute adorable fluffy thing n.n

Hoshiko mentions her brother did the same thing with the sleeping pills and alcohol…this is from 'This Love' after Roomi told him they were going to have to end their open relationship.

Just a little tag on, but Hoshiko is putting up 'stars' on her ceiling as a bit of an homage to her name, 'star child'.


	14. Natural

**Chapter 14:** Natural

 **Author's Note** : Argh, I don't even remember when I last updated. Hopefully it hasn't been too long…but my friend came home from India and we've partied for like…the last two nights, lol. That and work and other stuff? It's been a pretty fun summer…though I swore I'd try to finish this in like two months. Psh, right.

We are heading towards an ending, alas. 2 or 3 chapters remain then I can once again focus on Lessons in Life.

But yea, my grandmother actually had stars on her ceiling and my cousins and I used to jump on the bed and snatch them down. It was fun XD

Happy reading…there's some vulgar language (quote on quote vulgar anyway) and kind of suggestive themes.

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Yagami Hoshiko walked into the sterile building with a scowl. This was getting tedious.

They always did some overly drawn out search of her when she entered, saying they 'didn't want her to bring in anything to hinder their patients' though she saw men come in without incident. These particular perverted guards just liked ogling her ass.

The receptionist was even starting to cop an attitude, saying she 'visited too much' even though Hoshiko only came maybe twice a week. Julius told her if she came any more, he'd want to leave really badly but couldn't do without her completely. She did what she could.

With a grave sigh, she opened the door to Julius' 'room' and opened her mouth to greet him but ultimately gaped when she actually looked.

His room was completely wrecked.

The man sat in his chair, lopsided, his leg thrown over the edge, his arm slung over the back, and a duffel bag by his feet. He smiled when he saw her.

"Hi, kitten."

"…Hi…" she returned slowly, glancing around, "…Uh, what's…going on?"

"I'm done."

Hoshiko cocked a brow, "Done?"

"I'm going home. This place is only managing to make me want drugs more" he sighed, standing and grabbing his bag, "Sooo, I was hoping you could drive me home."

Hoshiko gave him a look, "Julius…"

Julius walked towards her, grasping her hands and gazing into her eyes, "I am going to destroy someone if I don't get out of here."

Her eyes widened and sighed heavily, shaking her head, " _Fine,_ but why did you have to wreck the place…?"

"Bit of a tantrum. Was immature on my part but I couldn't stand the 'you're better than drugs' spiel again."

Hoshiko gave him another look, "You are."

"I know that now that I've heard it _two hundred_ times."

Hoshiko just sighed once more and the receptionist looked irritated when he checked out. She sent Hoshiko a look like 'this is your fault, impeding on his recovering'. But before she could word the look, Julius slung his arm around her waist and walked them out.

"Don't even bother, kitten, she's not worth it."

She pouted and he set his things in the trunk, rubbing his face as he climbed into the passenger seat beside her, "Two months, Hoshi. Two months."

Hoshiko frowned, planting her hands on the wheels before nodding and starting to drive. She started to tell him her plan but glancing over at him, she smiled softly. He was asleep, his head lolled over. He complained that he definitely couldn't sleep there, that he needed the meds. She insisted that he didn't, that he needed to relax. Her relief he was resting melted into sadness. Looks like he hadn't been able to get past that.

…What was she going to do for him?

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Julius stood in Hoshiko's doorway with a wide-eyed expression. What?

…She apparently decided to move all his stuff here.

"Um, Hoshi…?"

Hoshiko pushed past him, "I'll make you something to eat. You can relax on the sofa. Or actually, try going back to sleep."

Julius frowned and grabbed her wrist, "Why is all my stuff here?"

She finally turned to him, her brown eyes serious, "You'll be staying with me. I'll be seeing to your recovery."

He stared at her, wide-eyed, as she walked away without another word. What? Following her, he scratched the back of his head.

"Don't you think, um, _I_ should be a part of that decision too, bunny?"

Hoshiko was putting rice into the maker and shrugged, "Do you not want to stay with me?"

"…Well…" he laughed absently, "I-I mean, I wouldn't _mind_."

"You did say back before we broke up that you wanted to live together" she remarked, "Think of it like that."

She squeaked when he caught her, turning her to face him. Hoshiko blushed as he stroked her hair back, kissing her neck.

"You mean-"

"Not like that either, Julius!" she grunted, kneeing him away.

He pouted pitifully and she sighed, rolling her eyes, "I _was_ going to let you sleep in my bed but now I'm not so sure."

Julius eyes widened and brightened, "I'll behave!"

She snickered, "You're so silly."

The woman blinked and gasped when the song 'So Far Away' played. He cocked a brow as she ran to grab her purse, frantically throwing things out to retrieve her cell. Clicking 'send', she rasped.

"Jyun."

Julius blinked as the woman sighed and walked back into the kitchen, "I'm fine, just trying to cook something."

She paused though and grabbed Julius' arm, putting him in the living room on the couch, kissing his forehead, and advising him to nap with gestures. He just blew her a kiss and she smirked, still talking to her brother. Wrapping his arms around one of her pillows, he yawned. As tired as he was, he couldn't sleep.

He'd really, really made peace with his mother and that circumstance, he thought faintly. As much peace as one could make with that situation anyway. But something was still bothering him.

Hoshiko was telling her brother she wanted him to come home and her voice started to escalate a bit meaning he wasn't giving a very satisfactory response.

She told him what happened. It was probably very crushing for the man that Julius'…sister had pretty much turned on him, in a matter of speaking. He just wanted to be alone and from what he could tell with Hoshiko's current demeanor and when she spoke of her oldest brother, they really weren't giving him that space.

Hoshiko walked into the living room and sighed, "Okay, okay. I…uh, miss you. Just try to get back before I'm old."

She blinked before finally giggling, "I bet. Maybe I'll buy you a cane."

She smiled and sighed again, "Alright, thanks for calling. And get your ass back here soon before I end up doing something bad. Yea, like getting pregnant."

Julius eyes widened and she laughed, "I'm kidding! Okay, sweetie. I love you too."

Clicking off, she rubbed her cheek and sighed, "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"Our baby" he purred, grabbing her waist and pulling her face forward into his lap.

She snickered and tried to pull away but he held her tighter, kissing her fervently, moaning. "I want you _so_ bad."

"I can tell" she blushed, feeling him press against her, looking away awkwardly.

"What are you going to do about it?" he whispered hotly.

He gasped as she managed to escape, winking as she went back into the kitchen, "I advise taking a nice _cold_ shower while I finish dinner."

His eyes narrowed at her and she blew him a kiss. Julius couldn't help chuckle as he stood. Ah well, it was worth a shot. He missed having that intimacy with her. It was…exciting. And he loved that comfort, knowing she was okay with him and that he was okay with her.

Frowning, he rubbed his neck. Of course, intercourse was the…well, sort of last thing he had to worry about. He needed to figure out how to sleep…

…Hmm….

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Three weeks…

Three weeks, Hoshiko thought absently as she sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes. Glancing to her side, she felt awful about it but she felt suspicious.

Julius was out so cold. An earthquake couldn't raise him.

He was lying flat on his stomach, a position for him that wasn't quite normal, at least, back when they were together the first time. Not to mention he was snoring and drooling.

…Why was he sleeping so well?

She stroked a stray greenish hair from his face, leaning over to kiss his cheek before climbing out of bed to start her day. Her reaction was him closing his mouth to swallow before gaping a bit. Frowning, she shook her head and grabbed her clothes for work before going to the bathroom to shower.

He went out late at night and returned absolutely exhausted.

"What are you doing, Julius?" she murmured to herself, washing her sudsy body.

He could be on drugs again, she thought sadly, but she really hoped he wasn't. She just…couldn't figure out what else he could be doing.

Stepping out, drying off, she brushed her hair, using the hairspray and gel to hold it into place. Pulling on the scoop neck shirt and black pencil skirt, she sighed, ready for the day. Just wished she didn't have such heavy thoughts.

She gasped when she ran into what felt like, well, a steel wall. Looking up, she was surprised to find Julius standing there, groggy.

"Morning" he mumbled, kissing her cheek.

"…Morning" she said slowly. What the hell?

He walked past her, peeling off the shirt he went to bed with every night and her eyes widened, startled. His back muscles were…a tad more developed?

"Uh, Julius!"

He stopped and turned around to look at her, still rubbing his eyes, "Huh?"

… _What_ had he been doing?

Julius was just kind of thin, in general. No real muscles or anything. That hadn't bothered her at all but…

…He had some muscles now.

They weren't bulging, but they were definitely there. And his arms too! How hadn't she noticed? He usually didn't take off his clothes in front of her though…

"Uh…have you been working out, baby?" she asked with a smile.

Julius blinked at her and looked down at his chest before pinking a bit, "…A little."

Hoshiko slowly walked towards him and poked his belly. Hot damn. Then, it hit her…

"…You've been going to work out at night" she gasped.

The purple haired man sighed, slumping a bit, rolling his shoulders as he wandered back towards the bedroom. Hoshiko sulked, following him.

"You could have told me! I might even have come with you!"

"For what? I don't really like muscular women…" he sighed airily.

She pinched his side and scowled, "Stop saying s—t like that. I can still work out, it's good for you!"

He nodded in agreement, stretching, "I do actually feel a lot better, strangely. Before, I was just too lazy to do it but I feel pretty great after running a mile."

Hoshiko nodded as he went into his closet. So wow, that was it? He was going to the gym! And she was worried for nothing, she thought with a smile. Hugging his waist, she stood on her toes and kissed him.

"I'm so proud of you."

"Aww, thank you…" he purred before yawning, "Mm, sorry, kitten."

"And you're sleeping well too" she said happily.

"Yea, I work out pretty hard to wear myself out" he agreed.

This caused Hoshiko to pause as he started towards the bathroom again. Wear himself out?

He was working out to make himself tired?

Standing there for a moment, she pursed her lips when she started to move towards the kitchen. Okay, it was a lot better for him than popping pills and booze. But…she somehow didn't like that either. She just wanted him to have the peace to sleep without needing to work out endlessly or drugs.

Well, maybe there were a few _other_ things she could help implement…

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She made him dinner. He chomped away, eating the mango rice she'd composed. "Wow babe, this is amazing. I like it."

"Good" she smiled happily, watching him eat.

"Mmmm, and the pumpkin soup is great too, even better than The Villages" he complimented.

"I'm glad."

"Mm, aren't you going to eat though?" he questioned.

She blushed and laughed, "I, uh, actually ate the first batch to make sure it was acceptable for you."

"Aww, kitten, I'm not the King or something. We could have eaten together" he insisted.

Hoshiko blinked cutely, "Don't worry, we're sharing dessert."

"Yum, I like sharing."

She giggled and stood, taking the plate and washing it before returning with the plate of chocolate. He blinked and she sat it between them.

"Bon appetite" she said cheery.

He picked up the spoon and took a bite before his eyes widened. She blinked, eating some, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just…thinking."

Hoshiko pinked, "Oh?"

He finished his portion and smiled, "Thank you for dinner, baby, it was amazing."

"Baby?"

He grinned, kissing her forehead, "I can use 'normal' every once in a while."

Hoshiko smiled and he wandered off as she finished hers, taking a deep breath. Okay, here goes. Washing the plate, she blinked, surprised, when Julius came back with his duffel bag. Oh crap!

"Julius! Where are you going?"

The man had his hair pulled back and was wearing a pair of jogging pants with a white shirt. Staring at her, he cocked a brow. "To the gym. I told you, I go after dinner."

"I-I know…" she grimaced, feeling silly, before walking over to him, "But, uh…"

His eyes widened as she pressed against him, "Maybe…I could convince you to not go tonight?"

Julius stared at her before laughing nervously, "U-um, I mean, I-I could, but, uh, I-I don't know how I could sleep-"

"There's…other ways, Julius."

His eyes definitely widened as she took his hand, kissing his palm. He inhaled sharply when she nipped at the tip of his thumb before moving to suckle the end of his pointer finger, flicking her tongue down the rest of the finger. He swallowed sharply and rasped.

"H-Hoshiko…"

She hushed him, pulling the shirt over his head before taking his hand, starting to pull him back towards the room and stopping before the threshold, "…Do you still want to go to the gym? I can't force you."

He stared at her incredulously and she squealed when he picked her up, "Are you nuts, woman? Getting sweaty with a random bunch of guys, straining muscles, or sex? I'm not _that_ crazy."

She giggled as he carried her into the bedroom and set her on her back, crawling over top of her and tugging her shirt over her head. He groaned, extremely aroused, the lacy lavender bra leaving a very favorable image. She straddled his waist and he moaned, dipping his tongue between her lips. "You taste so good."

Hoshiko blushed and nipped at his lower lip and he suddenly chuckled huskily.

"What…?" she murmured.

"Nothing. This just reminded me of the first fantasy I had about you."

She pinked and pouted cutely, "And when was that…?"

"The night we had that party for RD."

Hoshiko's eyes widened, surprised, as he began to kiss her neck, "W-what? That's crazy! We still weren't even close-close!"

He chuckled, "My body knew better than my mind did, unfortunately."

Hoshiko grew redder and he grinned, "Course, I hope this goes a lot better."

She sighed and reached into his pants, "…Is it?"

"Oh, it is already."

She laughed and turned him over so he was under her, "Do you mind if I…top?"

"…Nah."

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"Oh wow."

Hoshiko had her head rested on his chest as he panted, pretty worn out, "…Oh…wow…"

She giggled sleepily and rubbed his chest, "I like your muscles now. They're kind of fun."

He snickered, "They're weird looking on me and you know it."

"Well, you look just kind of girly muscular…"

She laughed as he pinched her, "Oi!"

"I'm kidding" she yawned, closing her eyes, "…I just don't want you to have to go and work yourself so hard every night just to sleep, Julius. That should come naturally but I remember when we 'slept' together, you seemed…more at ease."

He stared down at her and rubbed her back, "You're right. But I should be more at ease now that I have you back anyway."

He kissed her lovingly and whispered, "…Don't leave me ever."

"…All right. Julius, did…did you want to make this permanent?"

"What permanent?" he asked, sleepy.

"…This. Us living together."

That caught his attention greatly and he stared down at her again, "…Really?"

She nodded and he squeezed her, "Yes, I would love it!"

"Okay" she smiled drowsily.

Kissing her forehead, he started to fall asleep. It was so much easier from then on. He really didn't know what had changed…

Except that he couldn't be happier.

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' _So far away…doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore? It would be so fine to see your face at my door'_

…What?

Julius grumbled and turned over on his side to look at Hoshiko who was sleeping like an absolute log. Figures, he thought with a disoriented grin, he had put it on her.

The song didn't stop and it honestly depressed him. Glad when it was over, he cursed when whoever called again. Seeing as Hoshiko made no move to answer, he sat up and grabbed the phone from her nightstand. Clicking send, he said grouchily, "Hello?"

"…Who the f—k is _this_?"

…Oh damn it.

Wide-eyed and speechless, he gaped and tried to say… _something_. Her brother. Her brother had that ringtone! Why hadn't he remembered?!

"Buh, ah-" he stammered.

"Where the hell is my baby sister?" demanded Jyun angrily.

Julius shook Hoshiko's shoulder roughly and she finally came to, glowering at him, "What?"

He put the phone in her hand, running from the room, "I'm _so_ sorry."

Hoshiko cocked a brow at him and pushed the phone to her ear, "Hello…?"

"Who the hell is that you're sleeping with?!"

…Damn it, she'd kill Julius!

"Uh…what…do you mean, onii-san…?" she laughed nervously.

"Don't you play innocent with me, young lady! Who the hell is that and why is he in your bed at 9 in the morning?!"

"He's, uh, my…my…boyfriend…" she confessed quietly.

Jyun was silent for a long, long moment before echoing, "Your boyfriend?"

"Yes…"

"And how long have you had a boyfriend, pray tell?"

"Is that really important, Jyun?" she asked anxiously.

"Yea, well, you better tell your _boyfriend_ to put on his running shoes, I've already sent Kyo over."

"Damn it, Jyun!"

She gawked as there was loud knocking at the door and she nearly died. That fast?! Well, it was official: every last male in the family may have been insane but only her brother could cause mayhem from a thousand miles away!

Running like the speed of sound before Julius answered, pulling on a shirt and shorts in record seconds, she ran into the living room. Starting for the door, she stopped to look at her boyfriend, completely mortified, and screeched.

"Julius, why are you naked?! Put on clothes!" 

" _What_?!" screamed Jyun from the phone.

Dear God, open the ground and let it swallow her. It would be appreciated.

Julius went into the bedroom quickly and she rubbed her face…why? Why?

…Why? She reached for the doorknob and opened it. Kyo breezed in like a tornado and she squealed, bracing herself against his chest.

"STTOOOPPP!"

"Where is he?" Kyo demanded angrily.

"You guys are overreacting!"

She grimaced as Julius stepped out and looked up to her brother, expecting him to look like a feral bear…except…he didn't.

He looked fairly confused.

Hoshiko frowned and looked over her shoulder and stared at her…boyfriend, wearing that weird ruffled shirt with the red pants.

"…Julius" was about all she could muster.

"…Julius?" Jyun said from the phone, "That guy from the party?"

There was a heavy silence and she groaned, "...Julius, this is my older brother, Kyo. Kyo, this is my boyfriend, Julius."

Kyo just stared at him, wide-eyed, and she sighed, setting him down on the couch, grasping Julius' arm and bringing him to the kitchen as she warmed tea. Last thing she wanted was for her brother to snap out of it and beat him up in her absence. Returning, she set Julius in the recliner and sat beside her brother, setting the phone on speaker so Jyun could be heard.

"L-look guys, I know you're over protective and crazy, but I…do have a boyfriend."

They both were silent and she scowled, "You two were ready to raise hell a second ago so say something!"

"Well, uh, I mean…that's…interesting" Jyun finally stated slowly.

"…Yep" Kyo echoed.

She rolled her eyes and Julius looked serious, "I promise that I'll take care of your sister. You don't have to worry."

Kyo leaned back and crossed his arms, glaring, "You spend the night with her?"

Hoshiko thought her… _boyfriend's_ life flashed before her eyes and before she could scream 'no!', he said, so completely naïve: "Well, we do live together."

The look on Kyo's face was absolutely priceless and Jyun screamed loudly, " _What_?!"

…Where was that damn hole?!

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Hoshiko stumbled zombie-like, head almost completely down as she groaned, walking the streets, Julius by her side, dazed.

"I don't know if I'm horrified or impressed that your brothers could squeeze so many threats and profanity into one sentence."

"Muh…"

He grimaced, "It's my fault. I'm sorry."

"No, it's not…" she groaned, "I would have had to tell them about you eventually. I am serious about you."

He blushed and kissed her temple, "Glad to hear it."

She sighed and pulled her ear, "I…apparently have to bring you to my family dinner night so they can all harass you all at once. I'm sorry."

"Sounds delightful" he echoed dryly.

"I…do want you to meet my family though, if you don't mind" she blushed.

"Absolutely" he said without delay, hugging her waist, "I want to meet your other non-crazy brother family too."

She laughed and shook her head, "Don't speak too soon, you still haven't met my daddy."

"Oh God, will he beat me within an inch of my life?"

"Well, since we're living together, it is possible…"

"…"

She smiled lovingly at him and he sighed, "I'm going to be a man and take it. I guess I'll try not to dress pretty."

She laughed, "Silly! You dress what you feel comfortable in. It's probably better to get it out of the way so it won't be an absolute shock later on."

"Well…"

"Hoshiko!"

The brunette looked up and smiled, waving, "Hiro-kun!"

Julius stared at her in disbelief. Seriously? The guy from work walked up to her and he about pulled a 'Hoshiko's older brother' when they hugged. He pulled away and blinked at Julius.

"Oh…wow. Hello, Shimizu-san"

Julius fought a leer. Not very hard, but he tried, "Hello…Hayataka-san."

Hoshiko smirked at him before turning back to Hiro, "How have you been? We haven't talked in a few months."

…Few… _months_? She kept…talking to him?

"Oh darn, it's pretty crazy at Roshinko" he whistled, "Lot of price cuts and lay-offs. I think I just made it but I was demoted…"

"Oh my God" she frowned.

Julius couldn't help frown at this too. What had happened to his Uncle's company? He had heard their stock fell but really? He honestly didn't want to believe he and Hoshiko were part of what was holding it together.

"Yea, I think I might leave soon" he frowned as well, "It just…doesn't feel secure at the moment and they're trying to lay off Candy's entire section."

"What! She didn't tell me that" scowled Hoshiko.

"Probably didn't want to worry you" he sighed with a smile, "But enough of that. I saw in an article you won one of the top designer awards. Congratulations."

"Thanks" she smiled brightly, "It's a bit surreal."

"I think Roshinko-san made a huge mistake when he fired you…" Hiro sighed.

Julius didn't miss the minor glance the man shot him and his eyes narrowed. Hoshiko must've sensed this as she quickly interjected. "Sooo, how are you and Candy?"

"Oh, it's incredible" he chuckled, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "We were thinking about getting an apartment together."

"Sweet! You should, it's fun" she replied.

Hiro blinked, "Oh? Are you two living together?"

Hoshiko nodded and Hiro smiled some, "That's great. I know you weren't that happy with the dating scene before."

Julius cocked a brow and she laughed anxiously, "True enough."

He grimaced as he glanced at his watch, "Aww, I gotta go, babe, I'm meeting Candy for lunch. Gimme or her a call though, we should all go to dinner one night."

"That sounds great" Hoshiko agreed with a smile, "I'll call you soon."

"You better" he winked before bowing and darting off.

Hoshiko sighed and started up the road again but Julius caught her arm and stopped her, giving her an expressionless look.

"'Dating scene'? 'Babe'?"

"Well, it sounds kind of eighties but…"

His eyes narrowed more and she groaned, shuffling her feet, "Uh…I mean, I…"

She turned away and laughed, "I…kind of dated Hiro for a few months."

Son of a bitch. " _What_?"

"I dated Hiro when we were broken up. But uh, it just felt wrong, he's like my buddy so we broke up and definitely decided to be just friends."

Julius wasn't pleased whatsoever. Other men? "Any others?"

"No! I-I mean…"

He stared at her firmly and she slouched, "Uh, maybe two other guys."

His blood started to warm, "…So three guys?"

"…Or four."

"…Four?"

"Well, it _may_ have been five" she amended.

Julius blood was definitely boiling and he stared at her, wide-eyed, before she gave him a nervous grin, "Or…seven?"

"…So, you were netting a man every two months?" he questioned irritably.

"That's a rather horrid way of putting it, isn't it?" she questioned coolly.

He glared, "What was the extent of your relationships?"

"Julius, I am not doing this."

"Hoshiko!"

"I _slept_ with them, okay? I had needs too" she growled, walking past him.

He could have launched into outer space when she said those words, he was so hot with rage. Seven other men had… _known_ her?

Eyes burning, he stalked behind her and she squealed as he tugged her back toward their apartment, "Julius!"

"Seven other guys, huh? Seven other men have played with _my_ pussy?" 

" _Julius_!"

"I mean my kitten."

"Shut up!"

She gasped as he pushed the door to their apartment open and placed her on the couch, growling, "Get ready. I have to screw you seven times to make up for the bastards that touched you."

Hoshiko sulked as he tried to pull off her shirt but stopped him, "We've had sex _over_ seven times, Julius, I think you've ruined their 'taint'."

He glared, "I didn't know about them thus it doesn't count. Now let me see your boobs."

"Julius!"

She rasped as his hand slipped under her shirt, grasping her breast, sliding his hand under her bra and gently caressing her nipple. Moaning, she arched her hips against his crotch and he groaned.

"I'm actually kidding, Hoshiko. It just makes me really jealous."

"Yea, no kidding" she closed her eyes.

"It's not my business what happened when I was the one that made us break up in the first place. I just can't stand the idea that someone other than myself has touched you…" he sighed miserably before suddenly chuckling, "Huh. Although it's a rather assholish memory of mine, I remember when the idea that I was your first freaked me out. Now I think I preferred being your only."

Hoshiko blushed and pouted, reaching up and hugging his shoulders, kissing him, "Dumbass. You are my only."

He smiled softly and gazed at her, "…I'm glad."

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"How do I look?"

Hoshiko looked up, probably more nervous about this than her boyfriend. The idiot had caused a strand of hickeys around her neck during his crazed romp off yesterday. And even better, she flushed, at least in her head, because she was _almost_ limping. Seven effin' times.

Looking at her nutty horny ass boyfriend, she blinked. He was wearing a tight black turtleneck and a pair of dark wash jeans. She smiled, "You look hot."

"Really?" he frowned, looking at himself, "I think these pants make my butt look big."

She laughed and grabbed his belt buckle, "Don't be silly and say silly stuff like that around my daddy!"

He sighed, "Fine, do I look…gay?"

"What does that even _mean_? You look metro and polished."

"Oh, so I do look gay."

She stuck out her tongue and he grinned lazily, "I like this dress you have on…"

Hoshiko stuck out her tongue, walking away.

"What! I said I like it!"

Admiring the view of her backside, he purred, "…Really, really like it."

She turned, looking over her shoulder, the tight black turtleneck dress rising ever so occasionally as it cut off before her knees, and sulked, "It's your fault, giving me so many hickeys!"

"Your neck tastes so yummy though. Why is your body wash flavored if they didn't want me to nibble on you?" he lamented.

She snickered and stood in the doorway, pulling on the knee high boots, "Fine. Come on, I want to get there early so I won't be like a spectacle before everyone."

He sighed and walked over to the doorway, putting on his black buckle shoes and leather trench coat. Hoshiko shivered and hugged his side. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her as they walked towards the train station.

"Cold, bunny?"

"Yea" she chattered, "I forgot how cold it is. It was so nice yesterday."

"It wasn't _that_ nice yesterday. We were just inside for a lot of hours."

She scowled at him, "No kidding!"

He laughed and kissed her warmly as they waited before whispering in her ear, "I'd nail you every hour of the day if you let me."

Hoshiko flushed, "You know, I never pictured I'd be with someone as horndoggy as my brothers."

"What can I say? It's fun when it's someone you actually like."

She snickered and took his hand, entering the train. She was really weirded out. _She_ was bringing a guy home! Her dad would freak…ugh.

Julius glared as guys seemed to try to look at her and pulled her flush against him, giving them a death glower. She rolled her eyes.

Well, at least they had one thing in common.

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"…I never thought this day would come."

Yagami Nerimaru sat, slumped, on the couch of his twin brother, the fellow beside him. Koji just looked dazed.

"Well, all my kids are pretty much done in that area so I'm done with the shocks. Though I guess I still have my grandkiddles Sachiko, Felicie, and Lara."

Yukina Steiner, his son-in-law, glared, "Over my dead damn body."

"No kidding" snorted Yagami Keiji, Koji's oldest son.

"Hey" Koji said, pointing a disoriented finger at Steiner with a glare, " _You_ took my princess…" before pointing at Keiji, "And _you_ …you did _something_."

Keiji cocked a brow and Nelly smirked, shaking his head, "This man knows we can't handle taking hard cold medicines and what does he do? Take the extra strength of something lethal already."

" _Oh my God_ , you look like me" gasped Koji, staring at Nelly.

Keiji laughed, Steiner's brow raising as he laughed as well, "Yea, remind me to never take whatever that was."

Nelly just snickered and looked over his shoulder as Popuri came in, wiping her hands, "Is he still high?"

"Well, he just discovered we were twins so he's making progress" smirked Nelly.

She groaned, "I'm sorry. I know this is an important meeting and I thought the drugs would be out of his system by now and he'd be back..."

"Fergalicious."

Nelly stared at him, his brows high as he finally laughed, "No, I think he's gone."

…Ugh, his baby girl, his sweetie, was bringing a _man_ home! A man! He hated this! And what he hated even more was apparently she'd been seeing him long enough that she'd live with him! Live with a _him_?

Kyo walked in, looking miffed about the entire thing as well, "Yo, you ready to rip this guy a new one?"

"Eh."

"Eh?" his son demanded.

"My main crazy partner interrogator-"

"Fergalicious def-" Koji sang repeatedly.

"-Is just crazy" Nelly blinked, Kyo staring at his uncle, wide-eyed.

Inaba Carrie, back for a few weeks, wandered in and laughed as Koji stayed stuck on that like a broken record, "Sheesh, Uncle Koji, at least sing something drug induced."

"Hey Joe, where you going with that gun of yours? Hey Joe, I said, where ya' going with that gun in your hand? I'm going down to shoot my old lady. Y'know I caught her messing around with another man. And that ain't too cool…" he kind of slurred.

"Hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down, shot her down now. Hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down, shot her down in the ground" Carrie joined.

"Yes I did, I shot her! You know I caught her messin' 'round" Koji echoed.

"What'd I do?" Inaba Joe said, entering, very confused.

Carrie laughed and hugged her brother-in-law playfully, putting him in a headlock, "Nothing, Joe."

"Dude, you're Joe… _and_ Shin" Koji suddenly realized airily, "And I know a Shin from somewhere…"

Said Yagami Shin came in with his hands in his pockets and Koji pointed at him, "Ah ha!"

Shin cocked a brow at his younger brother and Steiner chuckled, "Don't ask."

Nelly smiled and wondered if Koji could manage to just scare the guy off like this. Elli walked in, looking nervous.

"Are they here yet?"

"Not yet…" Nelly murmured, glancing at her.

"Oh…"

He watched her walk off without little more and frowned faintly. What was going on with her? He was pretty sure they hadn't had a solid conversation in, well, a year.

Sighing, shaking his head, he frowned when the door opened again, looking behind him. His eyes narrowed.

"Uh, hi, papa" greeted Hoshiko, looking extremely anxious, this…man behind her.

"That's a short effin' dress" scowled Kyo.

"I like it!"

"You sure like skanky things lately!"

"What are you trying to say?" demanded Hoshiko.

Nelly stood, ignoring his younger childrens' bantering and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "So, you must be..."

The purple haired guy nodded, bowing, "Shimizu Julius."

"Shimmy!"

Nelly smirked widely, cutting his eyes back at his completely stoned brother, " _Anyway_ , I'm Yagami Nerimaru. And, of course, as Hoshi's father, I have some…questions."

Hoshiko broke away from Kyo and looked nervous but Koji pointed again, " _I_ have a question!"

Julius stared at him, wide-eyed, and Nelly blinked at his brother, "Oh?"

"Who told you that you can have red eyes? F—king up my patent!" he demanded.

Julius looked a tad-well, _very_ confused and Kyo just stared as Hoshiko's brows furrowed. Nelly snickered, grabbing his brother's shoulder, dragging him towards the kitchen, "Let's uh, continue this after I put him down for a nap."

"You'll excuse my father, he's not well" Keiji stood, smirking after the two, "I'm Yagami Keiji."

"Ah, nice to meet you. I…guess I kind of understand that question" Julius replied, seeming to note that Keiji had red eyes.

"Well, it is a tad strange to see a not relative with red eyes."

Carrie placed her hands on her hips, sizing him up, "Well, I'm one of the hundred cousins, Inaba Carrie."

"…Yea, I think you kind of neglected to mention that, Hoshiko" Julius remarked, glancing back at her.

"I don't go around spouting that _Carrie Inaba_ is my cousin. You know how crazy that would be?" Hoshiko snorted.

Carrie snickered, slamming down on the couch, "Indeed, she'd never have a moment's peace."

Hoshiko walked to where her father had been sitting, bringing Julius with her and sticking her tongue out at her brother who sulked at them. Julius looked around, amazed, "This is a _huge_ house, it's amazing."

Popuri wandered out and blinked, "Oh, hi! You're here!"

Hoshiko smiled, "Aunt Popuri, this is Julius. Julius, this is Aunt Popuri, my dad's twin's wife."

"Pleasure to meet you…though I'm slightly starting to fear that we may all actually be more related than I want…" he coughed.

Popuri laughed, also with bizarre features such as red eyes and pink hair, "Well, luckily purple isn't quite pink so there's still hope."

Elli walked in next and gasped, "When did you get here?!"

"Just now" Hoshiko waved her hands before pulling Julius to stand, "Mother, I'm sure Kyo's complained enough so Julius, this is my mama, Elli."

Elli rushed him and held his hands, surprising the man, "Thank you, she's been so manly for so long!"

"Mother!"

Steiner stroked his chin, "Somehow that sounds familiar…"

"It should" smirked Keiji as Kaede wandered in, yawning.

Nelly returned, surprisingly, with Koji who was holding a bottle of bourbon. Popuri just stared, "He's singing Fergie and you think adding alcohol to the mix is a good idea?"

"He's all right. We don't have normal blood" Nelly waved a hand.

Koji nodded amiably and sat down on the sofa, drinking directly from the bottle. Julius blinked at him and Hoshiko smiled some, "Uh, yea, that's my dad's twin, Uncle Koji. I believe he has a bit of a cold so he's a bit disoriented."

"Delusional is more like it" amended Nelly, sitting beside him and crossing his arms, "So…Julius, how long have you known my baby?"

"Well, we had an office together when she started at Roshinko Day so around five years, I'd say. Or at least close to."

"And when'd you two decide to live together?"

"A few months ago."

Nelly's eyes narrowed and Koji, surprisingly cogent, replied, "I guess my niece didn't tell you but we prefer to meet the person _before_ that step."

Julius frowned thoughtfully, "Hoshiko seemed really worried about me meeting you all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have really minded."

Hoshiko crossed her arms, "You guys are insane and you know it."

Kyo grunted, "Doesn't mean we don't care about you. We're only 'insane' because we want to make sure you don't get hurt."

"And sometimes you have to quit! I'm not a little girl anymore!" scowled Hoshiko.

"Now Hoshiko, I know _I_ didn't come here to get into an argument" Julius interjected, "You said you wanted me to meet your family. Let's not get into a fist fight, silly."

Hoshiko crossed her arms and slouched. Nelly was left a bit baffled.

…What a weirdo.

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"Mr. Weird Man?"

"Yes, Curly Q?"

"Is that your natural color?"

"Why, yes, it is."

"Bwah! That's so cool! Emma wants purple hair!"

Hoshiko cocked a brow but laughed at the fact that her boyfriend and younger cousin were holding somewhat of a strange conversation and even had minor nicknames. Inaba Kurt just kind of blinked at the whole affair. She was content though.

Everyone seemed to like him fine enough. Except for her brother, of course. She wasn't so sure about her dad either though. He'd wandered away after a while to the back deck with her slightly saner uncle to chat about something as they awaited dinner. Sighing, she just shrugged. Oh well, she couldn't win them all.

"You know, you all have unnaturally beautiful kids" Julius suddenly remarked, his brow rising, "I actually feel pretty intimidated. It's like high school again."

"Yagami genes for ya" chuckled Keiji.

"So…any kids on schedule?" questioned Yagami Celia, Keiji's wife, casually.

"There better damn not be!" Kyo growled.

Hoshiko glared at him and Julius blinked, "Why, I'd love to have a few kids. What's wrong with that?"

Kyo just glowered, "I think _that_ should be obvious."

Elli propped her hands on her hips as she walked through, glaring, "I want grandchildren, young man! You and Gwen need to work on that too."

Kyo shifted his eyes towards her and just blinked as if she were nuts. Hoshiko thought her brother was dumb for trying to pull a fast one on their mother. However, their mother wasn't being too bright that Kyo wasn't all that fond of his wife. Well, maybe that wasn't true. They just definitely weren't at the baby stage if they ever would be.

"Yea, we'll get right on that" he rolled his eyes around.

Julius blinked again and Hoshiko sighed, looking behind her where her dad was. What were they talking about?

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" _Why_ can't I feel like my point's coming across to this weirdo?" grumbled Nelly, slouching on the deck.

Koji, lying on his back, sighed, "Because he doesn't care."

Nelly glanced at his twin, puzzled, "Wha?"

"He doesn't really care that you're making subtle but pretty hard threats against his man parts if he hurts your daughter because it doesn't really seem to matter to him."

"That's the last kind of jackass I want for _my_ baby!"

Koji waved a hand, "Actually, it might not be _so_ bad…"

"How?"

"It just might mean that he doesn't really care how much we chide him, he cares about Hoshiko and nothing we say will scare him off. Would you rather your daughter be with a wimp that'd have already fled by now?"

Nelly considered this and sighed, "I suppose not. This is a test, right?"

"Right. If Steiner started breaking down and crying because I said something about killing him if he did anything to my princess, I wouldn't stand for it. I'd want him to say 'okay, I'll never do that' and mean it. And he has."

"Yea…"

"He seems like a good guy…'cept kind of…stranger than what the girls have usually brought home" remarked Koji slowly.

"Well, we have your daughter married to a half-German former phantom thief and _my_ son married to a woman that wants him dead for being a man" Nelly remarked, "I guess it already was strange."

"Yea, now all we need is a cowboy and royalty."

Nelly snickered, "Right."

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"Oh my God, I love this game" Julius remarked, wide-eyed.

Hoshiko smirked, cocking a brow, as he played the traditional Rock Band with the teen trio of Inaba Hayato, Yukina Skye, and Yagami Iori.

"Uh huh…"

" _I don't give a damn about my bad reputation_!"

She smiled, shaking her head, and blinked towards where Kyo had been. Frowning, she found that he'd gone off somewhere. Biting her lip, she stood with a sigh. It didn't really have to be so tense, did it? She just had to explain to him that everything would be okay.

Finding him hiding in the basement, she frowned. He was drinking thus meaning this conversation wasn't going to go so great, especially if he fell asleep after a minute like he usually did.

He glared when she sat beside him, grumpy, "What are you doing? Don't you have a boyfriend to tend to?"

She rolled her eyes and kicked his ankle lightly, "Stop being such a little bitch, Kyo. I love Julius."

He looked disgruntled, "Why?"

"Because I do!" she insisted.

Kyo glared straight ahead before shaking his head, "I hated you when you were born, you know that?"

"Thanks."

"I mean, you were mama's new baby" he grumbled irritably, "Not only her new baby, but her new baby _girl_. Mama used to pay an exorbitant amount of attention to me before you came into the picture. Jyun had already gone through it so he didn't care. I just was jealous."

He pursed his lips, "And you used to follow me around a lot, asking me about everything and I just told you to go away and stuff. I-I was a bad brother…and…you were always there."

Hoshiko frowned and he sighed, mumbling, "I was more irritated than Jyun was when you stopped like, associating with the family. Even when we were teens, I kind of had an idea where you were and what you were doing. But after college, you just upped and disappeared. And when you returned, you completely changed. You…were different. You…weren't my baby sister that annoyed the hell out of me anymore."

Sipping the beer he had, he rubbed his face, "It's difficult to explain but I guess I feel like we didn't ever get like sibling close when we were younger, we didn't…bond. It took us into our late twenties and even then…I don't know. You still were so far away…"

For whatever reason, in all his discombobulated talk, she understood. Smiling, a little misty-eyed, she hugged his arm, "Dummy, I'm not going anywhere. Of course I'm not going to be around as much, we're older, we have lives. But uh, you don't have to worry about me being too far away."

"Like Jyun…" he mumbled.

She frowned, "You did bond with him."

"Of course I did, he's my older brother. Jyun used to get really annoyed with me too though. But the thing with Jyun was he put up with it" Kyo smiled some, "…I miss him. Is it weird to admit that?"

"I miss him too" she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

Kyo glanced at her before grunting, "Fine, I will, in my own way, accept your boyfriend but let's get one thing straight: he's not taking you from us, got it?"

She snorted and kissed his cheek, "Julius knows that I love my family, idiot, and he'd never do that. Really, have any of the guys done that? They're practically a part of our family now."

He considered that and shrugged, "I suppose…"

He hugged her waist and sighed, "Either way, little sister…keep him out of your pants."

She glared at him before she blushed when he kissed her forehead, "Because uh, I've probably never ever said this but I love you. And he'll never be worthy of you."

"I like how you guys designate us to like, royalty" she snorted, "If you loved Gwen, would you like to think you're not worthy of her?"

"…Well…yes, actually."

She cocked a brow at him and he murmured, "If I thought I was worthy, I'd never work to make her happy. I'd think that anything I did was enough. If I loved her and thought I didn't deserve her, I'd spend every day working my best to try and deserve her."

"Honestly sounds a bit depressing" she smiled.

"Maybe" he laughed, "Promise me one thing though…"

"Maybe?" 

"If you marry him, don't take his name."

"Kyo!"

"What?" he pouted, "You'll be a Shimizu. I mean, Shimizu Hoshiko? You sound like…I dunno!"

Hoshiko snickered, "It sounds perfect to me."

Kyo grumbled at that but sighed, "…I guess it doesn't matter, does it? You'll…always be my baby sister."

"You're getting soft" she snickered before giggling at his disgruntled look, "I'm glad that you realized that though."

It felt a little silly, having a heart to heart with her older brother…

…But she was glad.

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"It's a little nippy out here, bunny…"

Julius frowned as Hoshiko held his hand, leading him up some pretty sloping hills and she smiled back at him, "I really want to show you this though!"

He just sighed but nodded with a weak smile before pulling her closer. He wasn't letting her get a cold out here.

Julius was apprehensive at best when she led him towards a cave. What was in a cave that he had to see? But, well, she looked excited so he didn't say anything.

He blinked as she held up the lantern her dad had given them to the wall, searching quietly before smiling. "Here."

Following her gaze, his eyes doubled…holy crap! "My God, that thing is huge!"

"Yea" she agreed, gazing at an amethyst stone embedded in the wall, "I've guarded it ever since I was a little girl. It's so beautiful."

Glancing down at her, he kissed the back of her head and murmured, "It sounds important to you. What would you do if someone found it and took it though?"

"Mm, I'd be a little sad. But at the same time I bet it'd make a lot of people happy if it were made into jewelry" she smiled some, "My papa said that when the jewel's in the rough like this, where it was formed in nature, it was most beautiful. That's always been something that's stuck with me."

He smiled at her, "It's true."

She gave him a chaste kiss and took his hand, "C'mon, we have to get back to the apartment before it's too late."

"Alright" he agreed softly as they walked away before looking over his shoulder at the stone.

…Huh.

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Jyun's ringtone is 'So Far Away' by Carole King.

Julius was singing that song by Joan Jett when he was playing Rock Band ™

Lol, Koji was singing 'Fergalicious' by Fergie.

Koji and Carrie were singing 'Hey Joe' covered by Jimi Hendrix.

(x) I really feel stupid about not mentioning this back in Leave Out All the Rest…you know, the story that was like nearly two stories ago, but Joe would actually be a nickname for Kurt's brother…in Japan, he was Shin. I decided to keep this for whatever reason even though I already have a Shin, Koji and the posse's older brother. I didn't do this for Kurt, however, as his Japanese name was Hayato…and that is his son's name.

(xx) When Elli thanks Julius for making Hoshiko more feminine and Steiner's like, 'huh, that sounds familiar' he's referring to Yuki where there was a couple mentions of him having made Kaede more feminine.

x smiles x There was similar foreshadowing parts in Leave Out All the Rest when Kurt and Carrie are in New York taking a bath…can you catch it here? XD


	15. Reliable

**Chapter 15:** Reliable

 **Author's Note:** Well, we're getting back on track with 'This Love'. This chapter is overlapped with Chapter 14 of that story.

Okay…three chapters. Enough to cover events of This Love from Hoshiko's perspective and Hoshiko's on life during those times. Also, the epilogue.

Happy reading even though this was actually a pretty sad chapter.

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"I'm home!"

Hoshiko stood in the doorway of her apartment, tugging off her boots, shivering. It was freezing outside, snowing like no tomorrow. She still wasn't that fond of the cold.

Julius peeked around the corner from the kitchen, smiling, "Ah, there's my cutie."

Wandering over and hugging her waist, he gasped, "And you're freezing!"

Hoshiko cuddled against him, "It's freezing outside!"

"My poor baby. Let me get you warmed up" he purred, taking her to the couch and wrapping her with the throw they'd gotten from the market the other day before returning to the kitchen.

Hoshiko smiled, hugging the blanket. It'd been four months. She'd been so happy, everyday just felt so…nice. She…she loved someone.

Sighing, she glanced at the table. There was a slip of paper with Julius's curly whirly writing. Picking it up, she flinched and grunted a curse under her breath.

"Jyun called?" she called to her boyfriend. She decided to leave her phone at home today as she was touring some no-cellphone areas and she wasn't going to be out very long.

"Yep! Threatened to kill me and everything" he answered.

Hoshiko's smile returned, Jyun hadn't been there to have the… 'closure' that the others had so he wasn't all that happy about the cohabitation deal. Not that any of her male family was anyway.

She looked up as he entered with their lilac and flowered china, steam rising from the little cup, handing it to her. Giving him a kiss, receiving it from him, she murmured, "Mm, thank you"

He nodded and took a seat beside her as she sipped gingerly at the warm beverage, asking, "Did he say anything about…well, you know, coming back?"

Julius shook his head, "Nope."

"Ugh…"

Julius replied thoughtfully, "I think he'll come back when he's good and ready, babe. I wouldn't pressure him so much as you guys tend to do."

"I guess…" she mumbled sadly.

When she talked to her brother, she always felt that he was so far away. He just…wasn't there, he didn't sound like he wanted to be here.

…It seemed like he never wanted to come home.

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Hoshiko glared at her brother who glared back, "That is too short!"

She sighed irritably, dropping the skirt unceremoniously back on the rack, "…There's days like this where I think I miss Roomi."

Kyo grunted at that and stuffed his hands in his pockets, glancing back to where their family was. They were in the farmer's market, getting food for the dinner night they had traditionally on Monday.

…She hadn't really thought about Roomi often. Except when she shopped or did things that were girly or wanted to talk to someone. Mind, she loved talking to Julius but he was a guy. Albeit, a feminine guy, but still a guy. She missed…her friend.

"Come on gang, we're done" called Popuri, her arms full of bread, Koji's arms full of vegetables.

They all nodded and the cousins that had tagged along followed, chattering happily amongst themselves. Hoshiko laughed as Kaede mentioned something about an art opening she had.

…She'd always remember that moment because she never even saw it coming.

"Elli!"

Her mother froze beside her, gasping loudly. Hoshiko frowned at her as she blanched. What? Someone just recognized her on the street, right?

A blond man, the owner of the voice, dressed rather ornately, jumped from a limo. Her father and uncle stared at the man as he coughed because of his…workout? Her mother seemed to regain her composure, smiling carefully.

"Uh, Tomoe-san…"

The man didn't smile though, "I can't take this anymore!"

Kyo hadn't been paying much attention until then. He cocked a brow as Elli stared at her feet, looking extremely nervous, "N-not now, okay?"

"No! Six years, I've waited. I won't wait any longer!"

Nelly crossed his arms and frowned, "What's going on, Elli? Who is this guy?"

'Tomoe' glowered, "I am Tomoe Gill. I've been seeing your wife."

Hoshiko frowned, glowering. What was he saying? Didn't he know that could be misconstrued? Sheesh! Everyone was silent though as if maybe they had the same thought. Her Uncle Koji was the first to actually want clarification though, pushing past her father who appeared baffled.

"What do you mean 'seeing'?" he demanded.

The man looked downright condescending, saying in an arrogant tone, "I mean-"

In a moment she'd always remember, her mother called out in a tone filled with abject horror but a painful amount of recognition, awareness, intimacy…

"Gill!"

Hoshiko froze and they all slowly turned to the woman who looked downright mortified. Unsure of what exactly to make of this, she bit her lip. What…? Kyo stared at her and looked ill.

"…Mom?" he whispered, questioning, nervous.

Their mother just looked like she'd rather the ground open up at that second as 'Gill' continued, "We've been seeing each other for the last six years. Surely you noticed something was amidst?"

Hoshiko, not sure where this guy got off even claiming their mother was capable of this, blurted, "What are you talking about? Nothing's been wrong!"

She was sure. Her mama would never do something like that. She'd never cheat on their father. Kyo, on the other hand, was giving her a suspicious look though pleading at the same time, as he remarked,"…Except mom has been missing dinners, weddings, showers, and just about everything she'd never miss."

Hoshiko wheeled to pin him with an incredulous look. It wasn't true! What was he thinking? Her father was extremely quiet and her aunt Popuri grasped his arm, staring at her mother wide-eyed and in disbelief.

"Elli…is this why? Have you been going off with him?"

Hoshiko wanted to yell at them for listening to this psycho. Their mother never would do anything like that! They'd known her forever! How could they begin to believe that she'd _cheat?_

"I…I'm sorry…"

Hoshiko's whole world went black.

Turning to stare at her mother, she gaped, wordless, as the woman guiltily stared at her feet, away from them. No. No, it couldn't even begin to be possible. Wh-why? She turned to look at her father. The color had drained from his skin as he stared at Elli with a disturbing amount of understanding.

Understanding? She cheated on him after thirty damn years of marriage!

Screaming, she fought the perverse desire to throttle her mother…if this _was_ her mother. "How could you?! How could you do this to daddy?!"

Elli gave her a pleading stare and Hoshiko swiftly turned away, covering her mouth to keep from getting sick. Her… _her_ mother?

Her uncle, realizing his twin wasn't going to say anything, suddenly laughed bitterly, "Elli, you are dead _last_ on the list of people I'd expect to do this…why? For what reason? Why is this f—ker any better than Nelly?!"

"See here-" the adulterous bastard started.

"Shut the fuck up!" snapped Koji, his rage felt throughout the group, "You disgust me! What kind of asshole cheats with a married woman?"

"Koji, please…" Elli sobbed.

"And you don't even begin to _just_ disgust me!" he growled, turning to face her, "Was it worth it, Elli? 33 years of marriage and you still can do this?! I can't even _fathom_ doing this!"

Hoshiko bit her lip, trembling. Wh-why? And her dad, he…

"It's okay."

All the sound came to a screeching halt when Yagami Nelly finally spoke. Hoshiko's jaw dropped when she turned to look at him...he was _smiling_? But the words didn't reflect that shivering gesture as he said softly, "I…I guess I wasn't making you happy. I…I know I'm not perfect."

Hoshiko wanted to scream. How could he think that?!

"Nelly" Elli cried, rushing to him, "It's not like that, I just-"

"You're just tired of me" he whispered, "Or…maybe I wasn't really meant to be forever, right? I was just the guy that came in after his death and comforted you…"

….His? His who?! And what did it matter?! Her mother didn't deny whatever he claimed though. Nelly actually laughed a little, the saddest sound Hoshiko had ever heard, as he stared at his feet, obviously not able to meet her face, "I…can really tell what Jyun was feeling. I'm a little less peeved at him for running off now."

That stabbed Hoshiko right in the heart…no…

"Nelly…" whispered Koji.

Nelly quickly continued, "Um, but…yea, just…just do what makes you happy, I'll agree to it. I'll…sign whatever papers or whatever. If he makes you happier, I…I don't want you to have to sneak around to see him."

Hoshiko's heart started to race as bile rose in her throat. He was just going to give up!? Just like that?! No!

"Dad!" Kyo cried.

"…I'm sorry" Elli repeated, looking down.

Nelly obviously couldn't take much more before quickly sprinting off, Kyo chasing after him.

What…? What…what just happened here?

…Did she really just find out her mother was cheating? _Her_ mother? The same woman that sweetly made cookies for them? That-that wouldn't hurt a fly? That same woman was capable of doing this…to a man that loved her? …To her children that thought she was absolutely…saintly?

Hoshiko just stood, frozen, barely noticing her aunt slap her mother across the face, seething bitterly. It wasn't until her Uncle wrapped an arm around her shoulder and quickly redirected her away from the couple did she realize…

…Her…parents…

…What the hell just happened?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Papa!"

Hoshiko stared at the man as he just stood in the opening of the house. Just…standing, staring blankly ahead. Kyo was bright red, his cheeks burning.

"Dad, you-you can't just let this go! She-she needs to be punished or-or something!"

"Papa, please, you need to talk to her!" Hoshiko insisted shakily.

As soon as she'd regained herself, she'd rushed to the house after Kyo who'd been standing there, pleading vengeance. She didn't want vengeance, she wanted answers! Why? Why would-why would she…? _Why_?

But Nelly just stood there before he glanced at them and gave them a smile. That smile he gave them when he humored them or just didn't think it was worth any discussion.

"It happens all the time, kids, it's just how it is. I-I can't really do anything about it" he said, shrugging simply, "It's your mother's decision."

"You can't be serious! Dad! Mom _cheated_ on you!" Kyo hissed.

"…You think I don't realize that?" he said, his demeanor faltering ever so slightly, "…She…she did what she wanted, what…made her happy. I told you guys to always do what makes you happy, correct?"

"I don't care what makes her happy, it's wrong!" screamed Hoshiko, "Papa, you have to do something!"

Nelly stared at a wall, filled with pictures of them married and with them as kids and adults and just pure happy unadulterated joy. His lip trembled and he said after he visibly swallowed. "Can…can you guys just…give me a minute, okay? I-I just need a second to myself, alright?"

"Dad-" Kyo started to say.

Nelly balled his fists, biting down hard on his lip, and whispered, "Please go…away for a little while…"

Kyo flinched and Hoshiko grabbed his arm. He needed a moment, understandably. But as soon as they got outside, he locked the door. Hoshiko had knocked, extremely concerned but Kyo just shook his head. She bit her lip. No!

They went to Kyo's house once he willed her away and he sat on his couch, hugging his pillow as he gaped wordlessly. Hoshiko, her stomach in knots, fought vomiting before rasping and bursting into tears.

"S-stop it" Kyo hissed shakily, "D-don't let that whore make you cry…"

"She's our f—king mother, Kyo! _Our_ f—king mother!" she cried loudly.

Kyo's body convulsed as he tried fighting off breaking down, swallowing rapidly, his eyes glistening as he forced back tears. "So-so what? We…we need to think about the parent that hasn't been lying to us for six damn years. He's-he's hurting."

"But you heard how he regarded us" she wept, "Like-like we were effin' five again! He-he never takes us seriously!"

Kyo shook his head glumly as he shivered, his body shuddering as he hiccupped on cries he didn't want to release. "So-so what do we do?"

Hoshiko stared at him before laughing humorlessly, her voice watery, "Jyun."

Kyo stared at her before nodding, "…Jyun."

He picked up his cellphone that was sitting nearby before stopping and suddenly whimpering a little, "It's…it's not supposed to be like this…"

"Kyo…" she wept.

"D-damn it. How could all three of us be so blind?" he sobbed, finally breaking a little.

Hoshiko just trembled as he heaved, weeping a little before finally composing himself, sniffling and shaking his head. He dialed a number into the phone and put it on speaker.

Jyun's voice came like silk, asking without greeting, "Kyo? Is something the matter?"

Really, that was some expensive calling so for Kyo to call Jyun, well, he had to know something was up.

Kyo had just managed to fall apart a little more and was barely comprehensively speaking. It came out as whines and sobs and Hoshiko could barely stand to see it. Even though they were on the phone, she could feel her oldest brother's alarm.

He asked softly, soothingly, "Kyo, bro, what's wrong?"

Kyo was finally able to choke out, pleading, "You _have_ to come home. You just have to."

She could imagine the look on Jyun's face. He was probably perplexed. "What's happened? Is everyone okay? Did something happen to someone?"

For whatever reason, the question managed to rile Kyo up even more, getting angry and red in the face as he yelled, "You wouldn't have to ask all that if you were here!"

Hoshiko winced when the line went silent for a moment before Jyun said calmly, "You're right. But I'm not so tell me what's going on."

Kyo somehow calmed but started to sniffle and whimper and cry. As much as she wanted her brother back, Hoshiko thought, shaking, she didn't want to scare the hell out of him to get him there. Pressing the phone to her ear, she rasped.

"It's…it's awful, Jyun."

"What's awful?" her brother asked softly.

Rubbing her eyes, she whined brokenly, "M-mom and dad…"

This seemed to throw him off guard as he demanded, alarmed, "What's wrong with them? Are they okay?"

"I-it's been going on for six years…" she breathed, closing her eyes, still in disbelief over that.

Jyun apparently calmed. He'd been there six years ago so obviously it wasn't something…life threateningly bad. All the same…"What has?"

Hoshiko closed her eyes, stuttering, not able to comprehend it, to formulate it even into a sentence for the words seemed so taboo together. "M-mama, she's…she's been… _cheating._ "

A dark silence fell on the other end before Jyun said in a quick incredulous tone,

"You have to be kidding."

"I wish…"

"Wit-with who?" he demanded.

Hoshiko bit her lip, that name scarred into her existence, "Tomoe Gill…"

"…How'd you guys find out?" Jyun whispered.

"Tomoe came up and demanded that mama tell us about their little tryst" Hoshiko informed him bitterly, "With all of us there, including daddy…"

"Dad…dad was there? Is he okay?" Jyun asked, his voice drowning in concern.

"'Okay'?" demanded Kyo, surprising her as he'd apparently gotten a hold of himself somehow, "How can he be 'okay'? Our mother cheated on him!"

Hoshiko grimaced and told him softly, "Daddy didn't put up a fight at all, Jyun. He just said if…if Tomoe made her happy then he should go to Tomoe and then he ran off."

Jyun wasn't dumb. He knew exactly what they wanted. No, what they needed. But all the same, he said in a nervous, anxious, horrified tone, "I…I can't…"

"You need to come home, Jyun" insisted Kyo, "This isn't because we're worried about you or anything, this is because we _need_ you. Dad-dad is a complete mess because of all this and he's just-he's not talking to _us_. We're-we're his children."

"I'm his child too…"

Hoshiko frowned. Yea, he was.

But when she saw how her father was towards them when they were there, she knew right then that if it had been Jyun, he might have thrown a punch and screamed and yelled and let out all his frustration. Instead, with them, with his _babies,_ he hides it.

"Dad's always seen you as more of an equal than us, Jyun. He always gave you more credit even when you were acting foolishly. He just sees us as his…kids. You're his son and…and then some" Kyo told Jyun her sentiments aloud.

Jyun went silent for a long couple of moments…before finally, he said: "…Two weeks."

…Two weeks?

"Two weeks? Jyun, you need to come back now!" Kyo growled.

Seriously! So what happened with Roomi was so traumatizing he had to ready himself for two weeks? Their damn parents were divorcing!

"You need the old Jyun."

Her angry thoughts halted and her brows creased. Kyo glanced at her, also puzzled, echoing. "What…?"

"You need the old Jyun that would come in and demand that everything be fixed or fix everything as best as he could without blinking an eye. You need the Jyun where hearing that our parents divorced over adultery would send him into a blind rage and go seeking vengeance" Jyun said, his voice so faint, "That Jyun died."

….Somehow that statement hit her like a bus.

He had changed, hadn't he? Honestly, when he found out about Julius was the loudest or angriest or just Jyun-like she'd heard her oldest brother get since he left. He just spoke kind of kindly too them and seemed quiet and would laugh nervously…that…

…That wasn't her brother.

Their shocked silence must have influenced him to add on a more positive spin, "The new Jyun will need at least two weeks to get his head together before he gets there. You're right, what dad needs now is someone to talk to but at this rate, I wouldn't be in any better shape than him. I'd be a burden and I don't want that."

She and Kyo swallowed. ?They…hadn't tried to ask how he'd felt, had they? They just demanded he go threaten and demand why their mother had done it. Never once did they ask…

Hoshiko whispered, realizing that, old Jyun or not, he seemed to always be the most practical in situations such as this, "You're right. We need to…take some time to calm down before we try to do anything. We…probably could talk to dad reasonably and have him listen…"

"But right now we seem like his overly emotional younger children" finished Kyo, also seeming to be enlightened.

"You guys hold tight. I'll…I'll be home soon."

He clicked off without much more and Hoshiko stared at the phone. He sounded so…unwilling. And why should he be willing to come back? The woman he loved rejected him here and now his broken family was here too…

"Do you think he'll come, Kyo?" asked Hoshiko, feeling intense trepidation.

Kyo stared at her before looking at the fireplace, mumbling, "Damn her."

Hoshiko had never figured out which her had he meant…

But it didn't matter…

…Why was it so hard to have a happy ending?

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"Kitten-chan, let me in…"

Shimizu Julius frowned sadly as he stood outside the door to their bedroom, listening to Hoshiko cry herself silly. That just wasn't like his bunny, he thought, extremely concerned.

She just ran in out of the bitter cold and straight into the room, past him like a hurricane. He'd greeted her sarcastically, demanding where was the fire?

…But then, she'd been locked in the room for the past two hours sobbing. Something was wrong.

Sighing, he knocked again, "Hoshi, you know it goes both ways, right? I'm not allowed to lock everything inside so neither are you. Open up so we can talk about it."

He rested his hands on his hips, staring at the door, wondering if she was going to comply. After a few minutes, he thought she was ignoring him but the door swung open.

"Oh, bunny…" he cooed worriedly, her face bright red, soaked with tears.

She sniveled as he wiped her face with his handkerchief and took her hand, leading her back into the living room and pulling her into his lap. Stroking her back, he sighed again, rocking her.

"Let it out."

"I-I hate her" she wept into his chest.

"Do you?"

"Y-yes! How-how dare she ruin our family like this?" she cried, "She's-she's a monster!"

Julius' brows furrowed. What? "What do you mean, kitten?"

"M-mama…" she cried.

Julius frowned, looking down at her questioningly but allowed her to lament a bit more before she became a bit more composed and told him the story.

He was pretty surprised even though he'd only known the woman a month.

Hoshiko's mother was that straight typical 50s kind of mom. Then, some pretty skanky stuff went on in the 50s too, but nevertheless, she perpetuated that image…

…She cheated?

"I'd never ever cheat on you" she sniveled, "Never ever."

Sighing, hugging her tight, he shook his head, "I don't know, sweetie. I know that people hurt each other. I've hurt you…"

"Yea, but it's not the same" she whined.

"You're right" he agreed, "…I'm lucky enough that you're still here with me and I love you for it."

Hoshiko closed her eyes and cuddled against him, "Julius…"

"They'll be all right, baby" he murmured softly before kissing her forehead, "And so will you. I'll be right here beside you."

"Thank you" she said almost shyly.

"For what?" he snorted, setting her beside him, "I'm going to make you some tea. You just relax, okay? You're as red as my good jacket."

She pouted but nodded, wiping her eyes and swallowing. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

…If Jyun fell through, she'd help her daddy. He…he needed someone right now. She had Julius.

…But considering that neither of her brothers had anyone, maybe she should just count herself lucky.

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"Do you think Curly Q would like this?"

Yagami Hoshiko looked up from her gloom, not even looking at what Julius was pointing to and said: "I don't want to go."

"I know, dear. It's probably a little hard to want to celebrate something after all this but Curly Q did ask your dad if it was all right."

Yagami Nerimaru must have been sick of the nearly fifty plus calls he was netting a day so he finally came out of the house for about an hour. Emma gave him a cookie and he forced a tiny smile for her.

"… _So…uh, it's your birthday soon" he said faintly._

 _She nodded amiably and stared at him with a serious look, "Does Uncle Nelly mind if Emma has a party?"_

" _Em—" started Kurt, her father, alarmed._

 _But the look on Nelly's face was rather horrified, "What? Sweetie, of course I want you to have a party! It's your birthday!"_

" _Only if Uncle Nelly is sure…" she said cautiously._

" _Positive" he grumbled and kissed her forehead._

" _Will Uncle Nelly come?" she asked hopefully._

 _That gave him pause and he shook his head, smiling tiredly, "I'm…I'm not feeling well, sweetie. I don't think I can make it."_

And with that brief visit, he just went back and hid in his house. Alone.

"Yea…" she echoed glumly.

Julius kissed her forehead, staring at the gaudy teddy bear, "And besides, Curly Q personally invited me, I have to be there."

Hoshiko smiled some as he sighed, "…Girls are so weird. What do they like?"

"Dunno…I grew up with Legos."

"Well, I had some Barbies and what not…"

Hoshiko paused at that before turning to stare at him, trying to decide if he was serious. But apparently he was. She cleared her throat.

"…Why?"

He looked disgruntled, "My Aunt wanted a girl if she had ever had kids. And since she decided she didn't want any herself, she…made me play the girl."

"…So _that's_ why you wear all the ruffles and craziness" she gasped, having a revelation.

"More or less…"

She hugged his waist and had to admit wanting to kind of laugh for the first time in days. She could just imagine her boyfriend wearing a puffy lacy Lolita dress growing up and looking just so disgruntled.

Not able to fight breaking into giggles, he smirked at her, tickling her side, "Haha, I was forced to be a crossdresser and now I dress all weirdoish."

She bit her lip, still giggling, and he glanced down at her, murmuring, "I'm glad you can still smile."

Hoshiko paused and looked up at him before looking away, "It is inappropriate, isn't it?"

"Not even" he snarled, hugging her tightly and kissing her, "How could I be happy if my bunny never smiled again?"

She smiled softly and closed her eyes, "Thank you for being here. I'd be a nervous wreck without you."

He sighed, "Don't even thank me, kitten. I'm happy that I'm here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Curly Q's ignoring me…"

Hoshiko smiled at the look on Julius' face, almost kind of hurt.

"She's got all her friends and family here. Not to mention…" she mumbled as the girl suddenly ran towards the door before returning with a sigh.

…Her stupid brother promised the little girl he'd be home for her birthday.

What was wrong with him? Why would he tell Emma something like that? If he hadn't come home yet because their parents were separated and because they asked, why should he now? Ugh!

Julius squeezed her hand absently, "…Just give it time."

He blinked as the girl suddenly pounced into his lap, "Mr. Weird Man!"

"Why, you remember me, Curly Q? I'm flattered."

"Emma likes her bag! And umbrella, Aunt Hoshiko!" she giggled contently.

Julius had searched pretty hard for it but he found a Tokidoki brand purse with all the characters on it surrounded in colored dots on the surface. Hoshiko thought it was cute so she got her a matching umbrella. She smiled at the girl. "I'm glad."

"Aunt Hoshiko" pouted Emma seriously, "You're not excited to see your brother?"

Hoshiko hid a grimace and smiled lightly, "Of course I am, dear."

"You don't think he'll come" she stated, propping her hands on her hips, "But Uncle Jyun will be here! He doesn't promise and not keep it!"

Julius patted the girl's head, "You're right, Curly Q. Brothers don't break their promises, right?"

"Right! Mr. Weird Man understands" she said haughtily.

Hoshiko was having a hard time smiling but Julius chuckled, "Go pay attention to your friends. A good hostess should never stay focused on just one guest."

Emma nodded in agreement and dashed off to her cousin Tsumaru who gave her his gift. Hoshiko stood, rubbing her arms.

"…He won't come home" she mumbled, "He's-he's like mama. He's…he's gotten unreliable."

"Hoshi…"

He'd just left this life behind, hadn't he? He had no intentions of returning, there was nothing here for him, she thought bitterly. Maybe…

Maybe that's what their mom thought too.

Inaba Carrie talked to her daughter about cutting the cake, the actress also seeming to think that Jyun had promised her just to placate the girl's demands. Emma, however, scowled and told her rather plainly that she'd already told Carrie no cake until Jyun got there. Originally, it was she'd save him a slice but she decided she wanted him there for it all…

Kurt walked over, Hoshiko following absently, as Emma darted off because the doorbell rang. Maybe another friend…

"You tried, baby. She's a reasonable girl, she'll come around when she realizes…" the man murmured to his knelt wife.

"I guess…" Carrie mumbled.

Hoshiko grimaced, not really understanding how her brother could do this. The girl would be crushed at the end of the day…

"I'm sorry…" she apologized in his stead.

Carrie gave her a small smile, "For what? It's not your fault."

Maybe, but Jyun was her brother. Her irresponsible, fibbing brother. She winced to herself. Why was she being so caustic though? Jyun…Jyun meant well, she knew that. At the same time, did he realize he was hurting others though? Her and Kyo needed him here for their father and yet…

"Yea, but-" she started to sigh.

"Yay!" exclaimed Emma extremely loudly.

"Oh my God, look at you! You're not my little shorty anymore!"

Hoshiko froze.

Carrie jumped to her feet and all the family in the room got quiet, their eyes wide in shock. It…it couldn't be.

Hoshiko felt her heart race and finally coming around the corner…

"Hey" he greeted normally.

Emma appeared smug, "See? Emma told you he'd come."

…No way.

Everyone was shell-shocked and silent until Carrie squealed loudly, darting over to him, leaping into his free arm, "Oh my God, you're home!"

He laughed warmly, "Of course. I can't break a promise to Emma now, can I?"

…Jyun.

Hoshiko stood back, gaping, as all the other relatives finally came to and just about mobbed him, demanding a bunch of questions at once. He…

…He had come back.

Kneading her hands, her lip trembled. She…she couldn't believe it, her brother had…had actually come home. He…

She gasped as arms gripped her shoulders and looked up at Julius who was smiling at her, his brows tweaked, "What are you doing? Haven't you been nagging the hell out of him to come back? Go!"

Hoshiko swallowed but nodded rapidly and quickly went to him. He chuckled and set Emma down, grabbing her and pulling her into an embrace.

Truth be told, had he not spoken before, she would have been like, 'who the hell are you?'. He had really, really, really long hair, like all the way down his back and he was actually extremely tanned. He looked odd but kind of pretty…

She couldn't help a laugh as she noticed their tones together, actually. She looked white as snow compared to him. "Oh my God, you're so dark!"

Jyun chuckled, "I'm just a little caramelly. I'm sure it'll wear off."

He held onto her by his side as the guy cousins made fun of his long hair before Carrie tugged his arm, instructing him to come here for a second. Hoshiko was reluctant to let go but…

She smiled happily when he returned a few moments later, carrying the cake and leading the singing of 'Happy Birthday'…

…He…he was back, wasn't he?

…Maybe everyone wasn't as unreliable as she'd thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Been a while, huh?"

"Yep."

Hoshiko flustered as her, Kyo, and Jyun wandered around the mountain valley where they'd all played when they were young. Kyo was sitting in the grass, staring up, as Jyun stood, looking at the sky as well.

"…I forgot how beautiful it is from here" Jyun murmured lightly.

"I'm sure it was pretty in Italia too" snorted Kyo.

Jyun sighed and stretched backwards, shivering, "It was a lot…warmer in Italia too."

Hoshiko smiled a little, shaking her head, "It's so weird that you're back, y'know?"

"And you might as well go blond so you can be a ganguro" Kyo added dryly.

Their older brother sulked and Hoshiko laughed, "It's okay, Jyun."

He just sighed and looked at the sky silently for a long few moments. "Dad…I want you guys to treat it like nothing happened, okay?"

Kyo and Hoshiko looked at him, confused, and Kyo growled, "Are you kidding? You want us to act like our mother didn't cheat on our dad? Seriously?"

"It's…look, she's our mother, whether we like it or not. We could disown her or pretend she doesn't exist but it doesn't change the fact that, well, she bore us. Nothing can change that" he said before murmuring softly, "Thing is, dad lost that bond that we naturally have with her. The person he's woken up with for three decades lied to him. What he needs now is not us reminding him daily of that."

"Going off that logic, we're a reminder to him of her regardless" Kyo muttered.

"I want it to be a good reminder then" Jyun countered, "I…I don't want us to constantly nag him and try to get him to figure out what happened. He's _hurting_ right now. I…I think it's a kind of hurt that I couldn't wish on my worst enemy…"

Hoshiko frowned at her brother as he looked lost for a moment before shaking his head, as if willing away bad memories, "Whatever the case may be, I don't want to depress him, okay? He's strong but, right now, he needs our support, okay?"

Kyo flexed his hand and shook his head, "…Our mother."

"I'd be just as shocked if anyone else did…" Hoshiko murmured.

"Naturally…but _our_ mother? I…I bet dad couldn't believe it either" Kyo whispered.

The three of them went silent and Jyun rapidly shook his head, "Anyway…"

He shot a slight glower at Hoshiko, "You and this…Julius. It's been bugging me for a while but were you with him back when I met him?"

Hoshiko groaned and rolled her eyes around, "No Jyun, we were just getting off our really, really hate each other track when we met up at the party."

"Which later turns into the living with him track" Kyo retorted.

She rolled her eyes again, "I love Julius, you punks."

"Well, you better because if you didn't I'll have to kill him for the way he grabbed your ass tonight in my presence" snarled Jyun.

"That was my _waist_ , smart one."

"Like it matters."

Kyo looked disgusted, "And you sleep with him, don't you?"

"Y'know what? I'm leaving" she grumbled, standing and irritated that somehow the conversation turned from her dad to grilling her about her relationship.

But Jyun caught her around the waist, much like Julius had, and snorted, "Don't be callous, imoto, you know it's just our initiation. He seems like an…okay if not odd guy."

"Yea, you sure he won't randomly come out of the closet?" questioned Kyo with a cocked brow.

"No!" she couldn't help laugh since Julius seemed really disgusted with seeing other guys naked or otherwise.

"'No, he won't come out of the closet' or 'no, I'm not sure if he'll come out of the closet'?"

Hoshiko smirked, "I'm sure he won't come out of the closet."

"Our senses could use a little help then" Kyo remarked, "I remember always thinking Jin was gay."

Jyun snickered, "He was a little pristine."

Hoshiko sighed and Jyun held her close as they headed out, "Let's get out of here before I catch pneumonia and die."

"Seriously? This is like the warmest it's been in months" Kyo replied.

"Again, 80 degree lows, 78 at rarest. It was tropical."

"Bitch!"

Hoshiko laughed and hugged her brother's side. Everything seemed to be slowly falling back into place. Julius and her were together again, Jyun was back…

She frowned, sighing to herself. And if only her mother hadn't ruined the flow…but…maybe this was a good sign?

What next?


	16. Monsoon

**Chapter 16:** Monsoon

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews! This one actually shouldn't be just a lot of cut and paste from This Love from a different view point, hopefully XD

Ugh, school starts SOON. Next Thursday…but I WILL finish this, GRR!

This has some limey parts…and actually, I said it shouldn't be a lot of cut and paste but it should crossover with Chapter 17, 18, and 20 of This Love x.X

Enjoy!

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Hoshiko sipped her coffee as she typed in the living room of her and Julius' abode, wearing glasses in order to fight straining her eyes. She'd been shocked out of her mind when her oldest brother had been reading a magazine and suddenly broke out a pair of glasses. Kyo just laughed at him and Nelly had cocked a brow.

" _We're Yagami's, punk, our vision is perfect."_

" _Yea, well, this Yagami stayed on the computer too long. My eyes are getting better, I just have to wear them a bit longer" Jyun remarked._

Truth be told, Hoshiko's eyes had started to ache a bit too since she worked more with the computer herself so she got some special glasses to reduce the strain. Julius said she looked too adorable in them.

Hoshiko smiled softly. Her dad seemed… _seemed_ okay. She knew he may not have been necessarily but at the same time, he didn't seem so sad. Jyun had been right. As long as they didn't mention it, as long as they just were behind him a hundred percent, he seemed all right.

She looked up and smiled as Julius wandered in, looking fatigued. Frowning then, she set her laptop aside, concerned.

"Baby?"

He groaned and slammed down on the couch, "…I quit."

Her eyes widened, "What?"

"…I'm kidding but it's what I want to do" he mumbled sadly.

Hoshiko pouted and scooted over to hug his arm, kissing his lips lovingly, "Then you should. I can help you get back into a design division."

"…I don't really have any creativity lately" he admitted faintly, "It'd…it'd be silly."

Hoshiko frowned at that as he wandered towards the bedroom, "Mm, I think I'm actually going to go to the gym before dinner."

"All right…"

He was depressed about that. It wasn't fair, really. She just hadn't expected him to quit Roshinko Day for some reason…

Sighing, she slumped. She'd make him do something about it soon, he really was coming home insanely unmotivated. Blinking when he returned in his track suit, a duffel bag on his arm, he leaned over and kissed her warmly.

"I'll shower and dress at the gym and meet you at the ferry in time, kitten."

"All right. Don't work out too hard, I may have a surprise for you later…" she said vaguely.

He grinned lazily, nuzzling her cheek, "And I do like surprises…"

Hoshiko pinked a bit and stuck out her tongue before picking her laptop up as he left. Oh well…surprises…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jyun picked at his food awkwardly as everyone chattered and laughed. Kyo, practically scarfing, swallowed and pointed his chopsticks at his brother almost accusingly.

"Oi! If you don't eat your food, I will!"

'Yagami' Gwen, his 'wife', rolled her eyes at him and Jyun sighed, "…I'm not all that hungry. You can have it."

They all cocked a brow as he excused himself and wandered into the living room. Her brother was _so_ weird now, Hoshiko thought, shaking her head. He was _quiet_ and…and weird! And back in the days before he left, they went to lunch if she was lucky. He now apparently got up in time to invite her to breakfast. Hoshiko sighed and ate the rest of her dinner before going into the living room after him.

He was sitting on the couch, sipping a glass of wine silently and gave her a soft smile as she crashed beside him, others wandering in too. Kyo kicked his heels back on the coffee table, popping the top on a beer.

"Soooo…what's up?" he asked somewhat casually.

Jyun rubbed his temple and shrugged, "…Nothing."

"Don't even lie, man" Kyo grunted, kicking him a bit.

Jyun sulked and Keiji snorted, "Might as well get it off your chest. We're not dumb, we know something's been bugging you, bitch."

The brunette swirled his glass before smiling lightly, "…Roomi."

They all looked up, startled, and he shrugged again, staring at the red liquid in his glass, "I've…been kind of hanging out with her lately."

This was met but a lot of silence before Kyo growled, "…Are you kidding? Roomi. The same Roomi that rejected you and is the reason you ditched the country?"

"I don't know many people with the name 'Roomi'" Jyun remarked dryly.

Hoshiko gawked. Okay, that was a surprise. A _stupid_ surprise.

"Jyun! After all she did to you?!" Hoshiko demanded, feeling extremely irritated.

Jyun sighed and pinched his brow, "…Yea?"

Yukina Kaede crossed her arms, "With her husband and all? You're really okay with that?"

He grimaced and sat up straighter, "He...pulled a mom on her."

Hoshiko was lost for a moment. 'Pulled a mom'? Then it hit her and her eyes widened. Kyo whistled. "Sheesh, what was that? Three years?"

Jyun sighed and nodded glumly. Hattori Jilliana scowled, "I mean, God, why?"

"Apparently couldn't deal with her being pregnant."

Another long silent moment fell and it was Keiji who gained the ability to speak first, "She's…had a kid?"

Jyun nodded and kneaded his hands absently, "Yea, a baby girl. She looks just like Roomi. Her name's Fujiwako."

"So…you've been hanging around her and her kid that's…not yours?" Kyo questioned carefully.

Jyun rolled his eyes and sighed. Celia, Keiji's wife, looked thoughtful, "Do you still love her, Jyun?"

Hoshiko's head shot to Celia, ready to demand what she was thinking and why she even asked something so ridiculous. Of course Jyun couldn't love Roomi after all that had happened!

"Of course."

Hoshiko's eyes widened, her head lashing back towards Jyun in absolute disbelief. Kyo looked a little surprised himself. "Even...after all that?"

"If it took me thirty years to get there, I don't think it'd go away in three" he smiled wistfully.

Hoshiko pursed her lips and stood swiftly, "She doesn't _deserve_ your love, Jyun! She was petty and-and I can't believe you!"

She ran off. She didn't understand why it made her so mad…but it did.

Gasping for breath as she slammed down on the bin outside the house she grew up in, she buried her face in her hands. It'd been so difficult those two and a half years ago. Jyun, her job, Julius, and then, Roomi. She couldn't really forgive someone she'd considered her best friend but could just do something so maliciously to her brother. Of course, Jyun seemed to forgive her easily enough. But…

"Bunny, what's going on?"

…Maybe Jyun wasn't the only problem.

She looked up at her boyfriend solemnly, "…I don't like what her family's done to you, Julius."

Shimizu Julius was silent before slamming down beside her, pondering, then shaking his head, "Baby…Roomi has no idea."

"How do you know?" Hoshiko questioned bitterly, "How could she not?"

"Because Roomi wasn't the type to keep that sort of thing to herself. That woman said whatever was on her mind whenever it was on her mind and didn't care who the hell was around, it was just said" he shook his head.

Hoshiko did smile faintly at that, "True enough. But maybe she didn't want to?"

"…It might be hard for you to believe, Hoshiko because I have no proof but I honestly feel that she didn't, okay? Because I just…know."

She gazed at him before smiling softly, "If you say so…"

"Hoshi?"

She couldn't help but wince as her brother wandered forward, giving her a look, "What's wrong? What'd I do to upset you?"

"…Nothing" she mumbled, "I…just don't want Roomi to hurt you again."

Julius stood suddenly and patted her shoulder before wandering away. Jyun took his place and was silent for a moment before shrugging awkwardly.

"…Roomi and I are different now, Hoshi. I…I don't know if we could ever be like we were again. Things are too…surreal at this point."

Hoshiko frowned at him, "Maybe. But the only thing that's not different is that you still love her and her husband left _her_ , not _her_ leaving her husband so...I don't know."

"You two used to drive me nuts" he suddenly said, "Especially when I took you both to the Philippines and the whole time you guys just laughed and giggled."

Hoshiko sighed and smiled some, "There's no denying it, Jyun, she was one of the few female best friends I'd ever had."

"I kind of wish that wasn't in the past tense. She did ask about you" he said with a sigh, "Said something about a huge fight."

Hoshiko rubbed her brow, "Yea. I…I don't know, I'm sorry it turned out like that but at the same time I'm still mad she did that to you."

"…It…feels too arrogant" he said, resting his chin against his chest, gazing around slowly.

She blinked at him and he sighed, "She…it seems like she based a lot of her relationship with Jouji around our relationship. Or, you know, as a comparison to how she wanted things to be?"

"Then she should have stayed with you" Hoshiko remarked dryly.

Jyun sighed, "…I wish. But I was the one that said we had no hope or future together."

"Yea…" groaned Hoshiko, "I think that's the only thing that makes me not completely hate her. It's definitely your fault too."

"Thanks" he snickered lightly.

"You know what I mean" she sighed.

He chuckled, "You don't even have to sugar coat it, imoto, it was my fault."

Hoshiko frowned as he pulled her up, slinging his arm around her waist, "Thank you for being a little protective of me though. Sometimes I think I don't have good sense."

"I…think you do but when it comes to affairs of the heart, I think we all kind of lose that sense" she smiled wistfully.

"Huh. Sounds like you know" he replied almost dubiously.

She just sighed, "Just…don't let her chase you to another country."

"Yea, she calls me every night before bed to make sure I don't" he snorted, "I'm not that crazy, sheesh. I've done that, I'm home."

Hoshiko sighed, hugging him a little tighter, "…I'm glad. And…uh, I…guess if you and Roomi are friends again, I'd give her another chance. Very grudgingly though. I might even get into a fist fight with her if I saw her gain but I'll…tolerate it."

"Yea, remind me not to bring her around then…" he said actually a little sadly.

She looked at him. His eyes were soft, full of thought. Jyun wanted the past back, she realized. The past where Roomi came to dinner nights like she was one of their own, when he could have just swooped her up and flown her off to some exotic country for a vacation…

…It was bitter but…the past was dead.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hoshiko growled as Julius kept sliding his hand under her shirt, nipping at her earlobe, moaning, stroking himself at the same time. Thing was, they'd just agreed they were effin' watching a movie tonight. Luckily they were at home but still, she really wanted to see this movie!

"Hoshi…" he groaned, "I'm so horny."

"I can tell" she grunted as he whipped it out completely, jerking off.

"Please? Just one go? I promise I'll be good through the rest of the movie…" he whined, giving her a puppy dog look.

"Julius" she said seriously, "I told you before you got home that we're out of condoms. _You_ neglected to get them thus _you're_ out of luck."

"Can't we…do it without?" he coughed.

Hoshiko turned her head to stare at him and he groaned, "Okay. I'll…make due. I can't go out like this…"

Hoshiko sighed, rolling her eyes at his sad look before snapping off the movie, irritated, _"Fine,_ let's make this quick. But absolutely no penetration!"

"All foreplay?" he scowled.

She propped her hands on her hips and gave him a glare, "Take it or leave it, bitch."

"Fine, fine…" he sighed, standing and following her, taking off his shirt.

"I mean it" she growled.

"Okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That sonuva-

Hoshiko showered furiously, not sure why seeing as she was pretty sure his boys were now all running for their lives down there, it wasn't like she could wash it out.

Oh, it worked for a little while, honestly, just the teasing and fondling and whatever. And it was actually pretty understandable when he did go inside of her, it was just a basic habit; an instinct of sorts. And it definitely felt pretty great without the condom there too, especially when he climaxed.

But of course there hadn't been a f—king condom!

Weak timid knocks echoed from outside the bathroom and she hissed, irritated that he'd forgotten and irritated that she let him in the first place! She…she couldn't.

She…couldn't ever be pregnant.

"Bunny…" whined Julius.

"Shut up!"

"I said I'm sorry" he insisted, the door muffling him, "It was an accident and it just felt _so_ good…"

"Yea, tell me that nine months from now when you're welcoming your unexpected child into the world!"

Julius just sighed. She pushed the door open, a towel wrapped around her waist, glaring at him, irritated.

He sighed and grasped her wrist, looking truly guilty, "I mean it, Hoshi, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're not pregnant."

"And how is that?" she demanded.

"…Uh, you're just…not" he said in what might have been a reassuring voice.

She snorted, "Are you impotent?" 

He cocked a brow, "…I dunno, actually, it hasn't come up."

"Then you don't know if I'm not pregnant!"

She threw herself down into their bed and sobbed, "I can't have a baby, I can't, can't, can't!"

"Hoshiko…" Julius murmured, starting to come near her.

"Get away! You are _so_ exiled to the couch!"

Julius grimaced, knowing that had been coming, and grabbed his pillow and a blanket. He didn't know what he was thinking, they really couldn't have sex without…that, it was just kind of impossible. Why'd he even attempt it?

…One good screw would have done the trick. One good go and now he could be a daddy.

Sitting down on the couch, he bit his cheek before flushing. If he was going to be a daddy, he wanted mommy to, well, be _his_. He'd…he'd want to marry Hoshiko if they were going to have a family. Though she'd never spoken about it, it was what he desired in a sense…

He did look at rings often but to no avail. None of them fit, none of them were perfect, none of them were worthy. But by this point he wasn't seeing much variety. Nothing really struck him and he'd been everywhere looking.

Swallowing, he stared at his sketchpad, an empty disgrace that was collecting dust from lack of use. Picking it up, flipping to a clean page, he grabbed a pencil and started to sketch…

…Maybe he was looking in the wrong place, huh?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hoshiko had thrown up earlier.

She hadn't thrown up in, well, a while. So what did that mean?

That meant she was effin' pregnant with that idiot's baby!

Curled up on her Uncle Koji's couch, she sniveled. It wasn't fair. Why? Why when this happened was it the woman that was pretty much screwed? Julius pretty much had free reign to run off if he so pleased. But she had to make the life-shattering decisions. It…it wasn't fair.

She wasn't exactly sure she was pregnant, however. It'd amazed her thinking about it now, that she had breezed into the pharmacy so easily, demanding a pregnancy test for her friend. While she could say that it was for her friend again, it somehow seemed a little cheap and she couldn't stomach the embarrassment of buying one.

This…this was where she needed someone. Not her boyfriend, not her dad, not her brothers. This was where she needed her mother.

Yagami Elli, the one Hoshiko had known, would have been shocked but would have comforted her, made it all right, and walked with her to either get the test in the hospital or bought one from the pharmacy without humiliation. That…that was the mama she knew, the mama she needed.

…Instead, she had one that cheated and lied to her family, one that was gone and wasn't there to help her now.

She couldn't ask her cousins, it'd all end up falling on someone else's ears then end up getting back to her brothers who'd absolutely freak. Of course, if she was pregnant, they'd find out pretty soon anyway but she…she wasn't comfortable with telling them yet.

Her lip trembled. She wanted her mama back. This wasn't fair!

"What's wrong over here, mopey?"

Hoshiko quickly pasted on a smile for her dad, "Nothing!"

Yagami Nelly sat down beside her and patted his lap, "I know my daughter better than that. C'mere."

Hoshiko sniffed and felt a little stubborn but he gave her that expectant look and she crumbled, sitting on his knee and giving him a sour look. "I am 28-years-old."

"Don't remind me. It makes me feel decrepit that my baby's almost thirty" he cringed.

"Thanks" she couldn't help snicker.

"Now, back to you. What's wrong?"

She tucked a hair behind her ear, "Nothing, just tired."

"Bull. It's…" his eyes shifted, "It's about your mother, isn't it?"

Hoshiko's heart raced, not sure how he was somewhat psychic but swiftly shook her head, "N-not at all, papa! We-well, I mean, it _kind of_ is but not really!"

He smiled at her a bit sadly, "She's still you guy's mother, Hoshi. You should go see her."

Hoshiko sniffed, "Never. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with her after all this."

Nelly just sighed and he rubbed her back, "…Then is there anything daddy can do?"

She rested her ear against his chest, sighing miserably, "You do a lot already, daddy."

"Aww, ain't that cute?"

Nelly smirked as his twin came in on crutches, sighing, "I hate this. Why hadn't you been standing over there instead?"

Hoshiko didn't know the precise details but apparently the two had been walking around the old historical shopping area of Mineral, kind of a ritzy, well-kept place. Or so they'd assumed.

Her dad said they'd just been talking normally about things. Then, like something in a cartoon, one of the planks gave out under Koji and the man fell through.

Why there was space under there, no one knew, but one of the support beams that weighed a huge amount fell on Koji's leg. Nelly said he was so startled, he squeaked. Koji had snorted that it was only for a quarter second since he was falling and didn't get to look too long but the look on Nelly's face was pretty priceless.

" _I was super freaked…" Nelly admitted while they were examining Koji, "He just…fell randomly and then I've never seen him groan and cry that much. He was like in agony."_

 _Popuri just looked irritated, "I want to sue the hell out of them! What if it had been a child?"_

" _They said it was pretty peculiar, Koji only weighs out at 164 at most. And he's kind of lanky too so it looked weird that it just…crumbled."_

 _The doctor came out where everyone was waiting and sighed, "His ankle, tibia, and fibula have some pretty intense breaks. I'm actually pretty surprised he didn't go into shock."_

 _Kaede bit her lip, "Is he okay?"_

" _He'll be all right. He has to wear a heavy cast for a while but he should heal up just fine."_

" _Can we see him?" Keiji questioned._

 _The doctor nodded and they walked into the room. Koji's leg was in a sling and he gazed at them with a warm smile._

" _I'd be screaming in pain if it weren't for the drugs."_

" _Oh Kochi…" Popuri whined, walking over and hugging him tightly._

" _You okay, man?" asked Nelly._

" _Yep."_

 _They stared at each other for a second…before suddenly snickering. Popuri scowled._

" _What are you laughing about?! There's nothing funny about this!"_

" _Oh honey, you would have had to be there…" Koji sighed._

 _Nelly grinned, "It really had to take the cake for the most random thing to have ever happened ever. It was like a Looney Tune's cartoon."_

 _Kaede sulked, "You guys…"_

 _But Jyun smiled some when they all left, the two getting all hysterically amused though it might have been more the drugs on Koji's part._

"… _Well, I wish it wasn't at Uncle Koji's expense but I'm glad dad is okay to laugh and stuff again."_

 _They'd all looked at him, surprised, and realized that indeed, Nelly hadn't really been in a happy mood, understandably. But he was smiling…_

… _That was kind of nice._

But ugh, she was preggies!

Hoshiko sighed miserably and climbed off her father to sit, "I'm going to take a nap or something…"

Nelly cocked a brow but slowly nodded, "All right, sweetie. I'm going to go and have a drink in the basement then. You want anything?"

"…Nah." Wasn't sure if she was drinking for two yet.

"Okay" he smiled, kissing her forehead before wandering along with Koji, chatting.

She didn't get a chance to nap, unfortunately, as all the other cousins started showing up. They chatted and she smiled, pretending to be okay but really, she felt kind of lost inside.

"So think Jyun will be by or stick it out with his new people?" remarked Carrie dryly, typing on her cell.

Hoshiko sulked. His 'new people'.

It had alarmed her greatly that, even after her suspicions, Jyun actually moved in with them. Apparently Roomi's asshole of a husband took the house that his child and former wife were living in and on top of that, wanted nothing to do with his daughter. What was with that? Of course she wasn't fond of the guy just on what happened but anyone that could do that was a cold-hearted bastard…

But for Jyun to take them in, buy a house, and move them in with him? What was wrong with him?

Of course, like her father, he'd actually seemed a bit happier for the last couple weeks. He was still a lot stranger than before but he was happy. Maybe she could get past all that then. Still, that meant she couldn't really go to visit him…

The door opened and Jyun entered with, startlingly, a baby.

After catching one glimpse of all the people, whom she assumed was Fujiwako buried her face into Jyun's chest, squealing. Jyun glanced down at her with a cocked brow and walked over. "Yo."

"Stealing babies now, huh?" smirked Carrie.

He stuck out his tongue and slammed down on the couch, nudging the little girl, "Oi, you, say 'hi'."

Fujiwako looked up for a couple seconds and Hoshiko felt her heart skip a beat. With bright blue eyes and purple hair…

"Oh my God, she looks exactly like Roomi!"

Fujiwako might have been flustered by this remark…or was just shy. There was definitely a crowd in the room now. She grabbed the edge of Jyun's coat and cutely pulled it over her face, peeking out for a nanosecond before hiding again. Jyun smiled lightly down at her, his brow rising. "Yea, but I've never known either of them to be shy but she's just being silly..."

Carrie threw her smartphone on the table, standing on her knees on the couch and bracing against Jyun's shoulder as she looked down his coat. Fujiwako must have looked up because she squeaked again. Carrie cooed, laughing.

"She's so adorable!"

Kurt, her husband, who seemed to want to have more kids than what they already had, coughed casually, "Well…"

Carrie said without question: "No."

Hoshiko almost laughed. Well, maybe she could give them her maybe baby. Jyun just smirked. "You want more kids with Carrie?"

Kurt's reply was a sigh and his poor brother Joe, he glared sullenly, " _More_ kids…"

Hoshiko felt so bad for Hotaru, his wife and their cousin. She'd had two miscarriages in the past couple of years and they were so sad. All she wanted was a child. Hoshiko felt her stomach turn. And she didn't even want to have a baby and possibly had one.

Jyun must have sensed a tense conversation so he questioned, "Speaking of kids, where's my dad?"

Their Aunt Popuri walked in with a tray of tea and snacks, setting it on the table as she smirked before smiling at the baby who'd peeked out for curiosity's sake before hiding again, "He's teasing my husband."

"Aww, he's acting normal" Jyun remarked.

Hoshiko smiled. Indeed so. What would they have done if Jyun hadn't come back? She wondered…probably would have made things pretty bad and depressed the hell out of their dad even more.

Their Aunt Jill smiled, "Thanks to you, dear. I don't think any of us could have talked him out of his depression."

"He's still hurting" Jyun said in a wary voice, forever humble, "Just…I guess I tried to help all I could."

"I'm here. Food?"

Hoshiko rolled her eyes, wondering how Gwen put up with Kyo, especially when they were in a fake marriage. Jyun smirked at his brother as he came in with Gwen, sheepish, by his side. Jyun then looked a bit disgruntled and lifted the edge of his coat away from Fujiwako's grip and stared down at her almost solemnly.

"What are you doing? You know you're not anti-social, little girl" he remarked.

In the cutest absolutely bell-like voice, she whined, "Jyun."

"Aww! She knows your name! That's so cute!" cooed Carrie.

Even Hoshiko had to 'aww' at that. Almost made her want a baby…almost.

Kyo crossed his arms, coming closer, questioning. "So…you brought the elusive Fujiwako?"

Jyun persuaded her out of the hiding spot, holding her up as she looked around at all the strange faces. The poor thing started to whine nervously. Hoshiko cooed sadly. Oh no, she was frightened…

Jyun frowned at that and buried his nose in her hair, comforting her, "Stop that, baby. No one's going to hurt you."

Emma darted over, curious, "Can I hold her, Uncle Jyun?"

"She's being a little cranky right now, Ms. Em, but once she gets out of her funk" Jyun smiled, stroking Emma's hair.

Emma darted away but this must have fueled Fujiwako's interest, seeing a smaller person than the rest of the group. She looked at the children playing a game and must have gotten some nerve as she pointed, turning to look at Jyun, "Go?"

"If you like."

Hoshiko smiled. So cute. Kyo blinked at her as she pushed between Emma and Tsumaru, Jilliana's son.

"Wow, Roomi clone to the max…" he remarked.

"I know" Jyun smiled, "She's a lot of fun."

Hoshiko looked at him, surprised a little by the affectionate tone. He did speak of her a lot, just like he had spoke of Roomi before. It made her wonder what was going on between them.

"Woah, woah."

They looked up and Hoshiko giggled as Fujiwako, extremely fascinated by Uncle Koji's crutches, weaved between his legs, caught between examining his cast or the crutches.

Jyun grimaced, getting on his knees to grab her, "You silly girl, are you trying to trip Uncle Koji up? He's already got one bad leg."

Koji smirked, taking Fujiwako from Jyun and slamming down on the empty recliner, setting her on his leg. "Knock yourself out, kid. It's not much to look at."

Hoshiko smiled as Fujiwako avidly went about examining his cast. She was _too_ adorable…

Jyun chuckled, still sitting on the floor, before yelping as Emma giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him backwards. Felicie, Kaede's youngest daughter, skipped over as well after guiding Tsumaru to Aunt Jill, his grandmother. Hoshiko bit her lip, trying not to laugh, as the two went to work putting bows and ribbons and barrettes in his absurdly long hair. He had it coming.

Carrie snickered, "You're pretty…"

Fujiwako, an apparently very explorative child, came over to him and pressed her tiny hands against his chest, staring up at him. Jyun smirked down at her.

"I'm sure if you were older you'd have done this by now too."

She gurgled and Jyun smirked more when Felicie and Emma squealed, running off, leaving his hair in a 'pretty' state.

Kyo came out of the kitchen with some snacks and choked on the Cheez-its when he saw Jyun. Hoshiko laughed as Jyun attempted, to no avail, to untie some ribbons but not before Nelly appeared. Their dad stared at him for a long moment before commenting: "Huh."

Hoshiko laughed again, realizing she loved her family, and crawled on the floor, helping Jyun, "I think I did this once or twice with you, Jyun."

It must have been one of those memories she'd repressed to this point in order to go along with 'her brothers had been horrible to her her whole life' theme but Jyun did let her play with his hair as he played on his Nintendo or something. And she'd even coaxed Kyo into playing with the few dolls she had owned once…

Fujiwako squealed, an absolute sweet adorable sound. She finally appeared to be comfortable with the group and started to scurry around, hyped. Hoshiko cooed as she came crashing down on her bottom, giggly. So cute…no! She didn't want a baby! Though she may have one…no!

Her father blinked, having not been in the room to meet Fujiwako at first, and walked over, picking her up, greeting, "Well, hello there, mini-Roomi."

She made a lovable 'squee' sound as Nelly toted her around, speaking with her, and Jyun chuckled, standing to stretch once she was done taking the bows out of his hair. Hoshiko blinked when Kyo tapped his arm. "Let's talk for a sec."

Jyun cocked a brow but nodded. She sulked. Ugh, he-time. Nelly walked back in with the baby and swung her randomly, making sound effects. The girl squeaked delightedly and Hoshiko smiled. He'd make a good grandpa.

Too bad her and Julius would make weird ass parents…

…What was her real fear?, she started to wonder. At first, she didn't want kids because it'd mean she'd be with someone. Well, she had that now. Julius might as well have been her spouse, in a matter of speaking. But now, she was just…frightened.

She bowed her head. She had to get the nerve to buy that test. This anxiety, it was killing her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hoshiko barely had an appetite though everything looked _so_ good. Oh God, she was eating for two!

Fujiwako, perched in Nelly's lap, ate the piece of bread he offered her with the very berry jam, something Jyun informed them that she loved. She ate it messily, the jam on the tip of her nose and everything but she was pretty happy with the meal.

Nelly chuckled, cleaning her face every few minutes with a damp cloth, "Sheesh, is any of that getting into your mouth, little lady?"

Fujiwako opened her mouth and stuffed a piece of the chewy toasted bread in and stared at him, licking her fingertips before grinning. Nelly sighed a bit. "I wish my kids were this cute. They were just getting into fist fights by the time they were three."

"Jyun _so_ deserved it" Kyo insisted.

"Shouldn't have touched my Mr. Potato Head then, bitch" countered Jyun.

"Mine broke, thank you."

"Who breaks Mr. Potato Head? It's like breaking a brick."

Nelly just stared at them before looking down at Fujiwako who looked up at him with a weirdly 'Um…' look, "Correction: I should have aimed for all girls."

Hoshiko laughed and shook her head. Fujiwako squealed as Popuri fixed her some more of the bread pieces since it'd been proven she liked it.

"Num num!" she proclaimed her apparent satisfaction with this.

Popuri giggled at that reaction, "Aww, you like it, baby?"

Chewing on the new piece, she gurgled, a sound that sounded almost like an agreement. She was too cute, Hoshiko thought. But that was Roomi's baby. Her and Julius would have the devil.

Sighing, the doorbell rang and Jyun got up, licking his fingertips of jam, "I got it."

Hoshiko sighed, realizing she couldn't eat anything and chuckled when the baby proclaimed a few more 'num nums!' for good measure. Ah well…

Walking towards the living room to see who it was, she froze.

...Roomi.

...She looked pretty much the same, except her beloved long hair was now considerably shorter. The woman stared at her, wide-eyed.

"…Hoshiko" Roomi smiled nervously.

"Roomi…" she echoed.

For a moment, they were quiet…and then Hoshiko remembered.

Roomi was the one she went to for just about anything that she couldn't tell her mother without blushing furiously or just needed a less sugar-coated perspective on life. Roomi was the one that she could call if she wanted to do something out of the blue, when she wanted an opinion on something. Yes, she missed her mother. She missed that woman that knew how to make her feel better about things.

And maybe Roomi had broken her brother's heart…

But she missed her friend too.

It must have been one of those mental bonds for a moment because the woman looked distraught but came to her anyway, hugging her, and Hoshiko cried. Ugh…it didn't work to be so bitter all the time. She…she thought she'd learned that long ago.

"I'm sorry…" Roomi sniffled.

"Me too…"

The others peeked out as Hoshiko pulled away, wiping her eyes, flushed. Hoshiko tilted her head, actually pretty startled. The fiery woman suddenly looked timid, almost horrified. She couldn't be scared, could she? Fujiwako giggled from her place in Nelly's arms."Mama!"

Hoshiko's eyes widened and she realized…

Holy crap, that baby was Roomi's.

Jyun looked a little serious suddenly, glowering at them, "So…you guys aren't going to be jerkish, are you? If I'm not angry, you certainly can't be."

"Why would we be angry?" shrugged Carrie absently, "You were the idiot."

"Seriously" agreed Keiji at ease.

"Hey, I didn't say insult _me_."

Kyo snickered and Roomi blinked, actually seeming confused, "You're…not mad at me?"

"I think I was before but it's okay. It's understandable what happened, at least. At least, it kind of is" Kyo crossed his arms thoughtfully.

"I'm…just sorry it had to happen this way" Roomi murmured.

Jyun grunted and Nelly blinked rapidly, Fujiwako hugging his neck, "Well, I do have one question."

Roomi looked up nervously and Nelly said seriously… "Had you always been this short? I always remembered you being a bit taller."

Roomi pouted and the other's laughed. Popuri grasped her shoulders, "Koji made some spaghetti, dear, I know it's your favorite."

"It's about all I can do…" the man sighed.

Roomi smiled and Hoshiko followed, taking a breath. Okay…

…Could Roomi help maybe? …Then again, maybe she shouldn't push it. They may have a while to go before she could discuss such intense matters with her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wha? You didn't use a condom?"

Hoshiko buried her face in her hands, her legs laid over top of Roomi's as the woman comfortingly rubbed them, scowling, "So you couldn't have done sex that wouldn't require him going into your lady section?"

"I-I don't know" she grumbled, wondering why she didn't give him head now. She really hadn't been in the mood. "I…I can't do much about it now."

Roomi stared at her for a moment before saying, "I'll get you the test, sweetie, since you got it for me that last time. It's the least I could do."

Hoshiko looked up wearily but hopefully, "Really…?"

"Of course" she assured before tilting her head thoughtfully, "But what's really the matter?"

Hoshiko looked up, shaking her head, "…What do you mean?"

"I remember you, Hoshi" she sighed airily, "You've got some bigger conundrum going on in that pretty head of yours. What's up?"

Hoshiko pinked and looked away, mumbling, "…If…I was pregnant, I don't think I could keep it. I'm not a mother."

Roomi snorted loudly, "Oh yea, I'm _totally_ mother material, Hoshi. I drank and had random orgies with your brothers all the time."

"TMI, Roo, TMI" smirked Hoshiko.

Roomi waved a hand as if it were of no consequence, "Nevertheless, it's different for some people. Is it that you don't like kids?"

"No, I like them. I've actually always liked babies" Hoshiko admitted shyly, "I just…I don't have a mother anymore. I-I have no one to run to when I'm lost-"

"Hey, I'm a mama now and you, you have a bazillion aunts. Not to mention your dad probably knows a thing or two about babies…" Roomi pointed out, "How can you think you're alone? You have a huge family that loves you."

Hoshiko swallowed that and Roomi sighed miserably, "I didn't have anyone at all, Hoshi. My mother wasn't here so I doubt she could help me anyway. And my nice not evil grandmother helps but sometimes…well, it's like anything else, sometimes you're driving solo."

Growing quiet, thinking this over, realizing that…well…"…Julius might not want kids. He's…he's had an awful childhood…"

"So did I" she remarked dryly, "You can't let that change your decision if you want one though…"

"I can't?" murmured Hoshiko, "I…don't see how I can though."

Then she remembered he said he did want kids, didn't he, when Kyo brought it up? So really, this was all her. But why…?

Roomi's eyes widened when Nelly appeared with a fussy Fujiwako, frowning, "Hey, sorry to interrupt but she needs a mama's touch."

Roomi cooed, taking Fujiwako from him, thanking him, "Thank you. It was so cute that she let you put her to sleep."

Nelly chuckled, "Yea, I think she only woke up because Kyo was loud, the idiot."

Hoshiko smirked and Roomi laughed faintly, holding Fujiwako against her and rocking her, "It's okay, she usually wakes up during the night anyway. Her favorite other person to cuddle up with is Jyun."

Nelly sighed, "It's probably his feminine ability to comfort…"

Roomi giggled and Hoshiko snickered, "Daddy."

He chuckled and waved as he exited the sunroom. Hoshiko cooed as Fujiwako slowly calmed and actually purred as Roomi hummed to her, kissing her forehead.

"…It's not for everyone, Hoshi" she smiled at her baby, "So make sure. But I love being a mama."

Hoshiko stared at her before smiling…maybe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Julius sat in the bedroom, sketching absently though occasionally looking up to gaze out at the living room.

…She was there.

He hadn't really thought much about it, he supposed. He thought he'd never really run into her ever again. But she was here with her munchkin.

…His sister.

Clenching his head, he shook it. What was he going to do? She'd become a part of his kitten's life again! He couldn't avoid her forever…

Hoshiko peeked in suddenly, whispering, "You want something to drink, baby?"

"Nah, I'm good, bunny" he smiled absently at her.

"Okay…just text or something if you need anything" she said softly, quickly walking over and giving him a kiss before exiting. He sighed.

She thought she was pregnant.

She admitted that to him and he nearly freaked but he was almost excited. Of course, she informed him that she wasn't and seemed happy which rather depressed him. He wanted a kid.

" _I…uh, think I'd like to have your baby one day, Julius…but…let's wait a while before, okay?" she had smiled at him shyly._

What could he say after that? Except think she was too cute to argue with. And it wasn't an illogical request either. They weren't married or anything…

He smiled at his design. Yet.

Julius jumped a little when the door opened again and didn't see anyone. He gawked when he looked down to find the baby, Fujiwako. Well, one thing was for sure: Hoshiko would have to work on the monitoring skills before they had their baby.

A sippy cup in her hand, she stared at him with bright blue eyes. Julius stared back, at a loss, hoping her mother wouldn't come looking for her…

She pulled the cup away from her mouth, smacking her lips, apparently satisfied with the juice and smiled widely at him, "Yum."

He blinked at her before smiling lightly. She was a little cute…

She giggled and dashed around suddenly, looking out the window after climbing up the chaise sitting under it. He watched her warily, his…niece.

Sitting on the chair, she looked around rather absently before curling up like a kitten and tugging the throw over her, squealing. Julius cocked a brow before smiling. What a weird.

Hoshiko finally came in and looked alarmed, mouthing, "Where's the baby?"

Julius blanked his expression, giving her an odd look: 'What baby?'

He almost laughed as the woman absolutely freaked in silence and he smiled widely, shaking and tilting his head towards the chaise. She looked at it and took a breath of relief, lifting the blanket and giggling.

"You silly, are you hiding?"

Fujiwako 'squeed' and Hoshiko laughed, lifting her and walking out of the room. Julius smiled some at that.

One day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shimizu Julius almost regretted that woman coming back into Hoshiko's life.

'Almost' because, well, she was so bright and sparkly. She'd been bright and sparkly, naturally, but she was so happy. She had her friend back.

But…

He pasted on a smile as she walked out in a purple bandeau top dress, the silky fabric reaching the floor. Her neck was accentuated by the necklace he got her for her 25th birthday, a pretty diamond surrounded in silver. Her hair was up and pulled back by a diamond barrette, her face made up all pretty.

…He couldn't go.

She stared at him anxiously and sat beside him, grasping his hands and kissing them, "…Are you sure, Julius? Roomi doesn't know the difference."

"But I do."

The woman grimaced and kissed his cheek, "It's not that important. Grandpa usually never even bothers to go to these award ceremonies. I don't really have to go."

"Of course you do" he scoffed, "Not only was this one important enough for your grandfather to attend, you're too pretty not to show off."

She pinked and rested her cheek gingerly against his shoulder, "I guess…"

"Of course…" he mused, horrified, "Some guy could try to pick you up…"

Hoshiko snickered and hit him playfully, standing, and propping her hands on her hips when the door rang, "Well, that's my ride. I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun though. I'll be fine here" he smiled.

She nodded sadly and walked out, pulling her heels on at the doorway and skipped out, chattering instantly with Roomi.

…It was true, Roomi wouldn't have known and probably would have treated him the same way they both had before. But…

…He couldn't.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What's up with your boyfriend?" grunted Kyo, drinking a glass of wine, "He doesn't come to dinner nights anymore and this?"

Hoshiko grimaced at that assessment and laughed, shaking her head, "Salary work is tiring…"

"Meh."

"Don't be so callous" said Gwen, his 'wife', dryly, "It's not like you have a permanent long hour job anyway."

"Well thank you, 'wife', who has probably never even had to have a job, for setting me straight."

They glowered at each other and Hoshiko smiled, shaking her head. This event was pretty cool though. A lot of actually nice people were around. And she had to admit, it was both embarrassing but delightful that some people recognized her from her awards. She felt so accomplished…

It would have all been better if he was here.

She wondered how long he thought he could go on avoiding a woman that lived with her brother? They were going to have to cross paths eventually…

Shaking her head, she looked towards her brother and Roomi. Jyun kissed her cheek suddenly, apparently leaving her side for a moment. She caught him and said something which he laughed at and left again.

"They're so sickeningly…cute" said Kyo, disgusted.

Hoshiko laughed some, "I just think it's weird that it's Jyun."

"Oh definitely."

"A-ah…"

Kyo cocked a brow at his 'wife' who looked wide-eyed, her hands pressed to her lips. She was staring at a woman…blinking, he questioned.

"And…who's that?"

"N-no one" she flustered, turning away though glancing back.

Kyo rolled his eyes and she squeaked as he took her elbow, walking her towards the woman in question, "It's probably one of your favorite penis-shaming writers so you might as well go over."

"W-wait!"

Alas, she didn't exactly stop him. Hoshiko smiled and sighed, turning towards Roomi to wave. Roomi, who had looked lost, brightened and started over.

Hoshiko squinted a bit when a blur came up behind Roomi pretty fast and gawked when she saw who it was.

…Mom.

Roomi must have been alarmed by the horrified look on her face as Elli seemed to pretty much yell at her.

…Hoshiko wanted to go over, to stop this and yell at her mother but instead she just choked. She…she never wanted to _see_ her again. Biting her lip, eyes tearing, she covered her mouth. Why? She spent all her life trying not to need her mother but now…she'd need her more from now and…and she was gone.

Swallowing, she peeked over her shoulder and gasped. Jyun had appeared and was glaring heatedly at the woman, speaking to her before guiding Roomi away towards her. Roomi looked absolutely hurt and close to tears. It just made Hoshiko so angry. Why? Why was the woman they'd all known to be so peaceful causing so much suffering?

When they got close enough, she hissed, demanding, "Why is she here?"

Jyun glared back towards the woman who was staring at them rather wide-eyed.

"The guy she's with, Tomoe Gil, his father is a high-ranking government official. That's what Cliff's dad told me."

Hoshiko spared a glance back and felt like she'd been punched in the gut suddenly. Seeing her with another man…it…it wasn't right. She couldn't take it. "I want to leave" she whispered.

Jyun shook his head, saying comfortingly, "Stop that. We're here because our grandfather wanted us here. We're not letting her ruin this for him. I'm just really, really glad we didn't try to coax dad into coming more."

Hoshiko winced. Indeed, their father hadn't wanted to come because he was tired after having to spend some hours with one of his horses that was in labor. If he had mustered up the energy and saw her…

Roomi was rubbing her arms as if cold, choking out brokenly, "I, uh…"

Jyun looked furious, "She had absolutely no right to talk to you like that either, Roomi."

He looked over his shoulder and Hoshiko looked away. Their mother was still looking at them rather fiercely. Figures. She must be mad that they hadn't told her Jyun was home, she reasoned. Too bad no one really cared.

But Jyun, always the one that would take responsibility for their sibling trio, the calm peacemaker in situations such as this, murmured, "Forget it, I'll talk to her."

"Jyun…" Hoshiko murmured, feeling how much he just didn't want to, "You don't have to…"

"I'm the oldest" he said as if that made it his duty, "I'll be right back."

Hoshiko bit her lip but Roomi caught his wrist and pulled him down, kissing his cheek, and whispering something to him which he mouthed back.

Hoshiko bowed her head, miserable, "I'm sorry I didn't try to stop her, Roomi…"

Roomi stared after Jyun and Elli for a moment before snorting, grasping her shoulders and guiding her towards where Kyo and Gwen were, oblivious, "Don't worry, sweetie, I know it's tough for you. I'm a big girl though, I can take it."

Hoshiko pursed her lips and the two walked over to Kyo who looked up at them, smiling, before his look melted into a frown, sensing their sour mood: "What's wrong, babies?"

"…Mama's here" mumbled Hoshiko.

Kyo's eyes widened and he looked up, alarmed, "Where?"

"Jyun's gone off to talk to her…"

Kyo gritted his teeth, "…F—k."

Roomi opened her mouth but gasped when Jyun suddenly stormed back in like a tornado, actually snatching a bottle of wine off a guy's tray as he passed. Roomi grimaced and excused herself, rushing after him as he practically flew out the front door. Hoshiko stared, wide-eyed, a little startled. That didn't take long.

"…I guess that didn't go so well" Kyo grumbled.

Hoshiko shook her head and hugged his side, biting her lip, "…It hurts so much, Kyo. Aren't we supposed to older? Why does it hurt like this?"

"…Being older doesn't mean we don't have feelings" he whispered sadly.

Hoshiko closed her eyes.

…Maybe she should have taken her father and Julius' example. She could have done without this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Julius yawned as he wandered out of the room at 7 a.m., wondering why Hoshiko was still out. That must have been one hell of a formal party if it was still rocking. He jumped a little though, surprised, to find his bunny lying face down in the couch, holding a bottle of rum in the arm that was slung down.

His brows creased and he walked over to her. Correction: _empty_ bottle of rum. Taking the bottle out of her hands carefully, he picked her up and grimaced at her tear-stained face. Jeez, what happened?

Resting her in bed, unsnapping the dress and finding a shirt for her to wear to be more comfortable, he tucked her in and pressed a cool cloth to her warm forehead before kissing her cheek. Maybe he should have swallowed it and gone, he thought, worried. Of course, he didn't think anything was going to make her cry at that party.

Taking a shower, he wandered around quietly and made some breakfast before a knock came at the door. Sighing, he walked over to answer and recoiled at the guest.

Roomi.

Fujiwako was in her arms, looking sleepy, as the woman glowered at him, pushing past him rather unceremoniously, "Hey tranny, been a while."

He pursed his lips, eyes narrowing, knowing usually he had some equally un-PC retort but somehow… "Yea."

She looked around, having set Fujiwako on the couch, her hands on her hips, "Where's Hoshi?"

"Sleeping. Finished a bottle of rum" he said rather shortly.

Roomi grimaced and rubbed her forehead, "Their mother was there."

Julius paused, turning to her, halting his escape to the kitchen, "What?"

She rubbed her brow next, sitting on the couch, "She showed up, yelled at me about being there, said she was going to get me _uninvited_ , and was freaked because no one told her Jyun was back. Jyun tried to talk to her but I think Hoshiko and Kyo were really upset."

Julius glanced to the bedroom, biting his lip, "Kitten…"

As if hearing him, she wandered out, clutching her forehead, "Ugh…my head hurts so much…"

"That's what drinking a bottle of rum does to you" snorted Roomi.

Hoshiko jumped about a mile and looked wide-eyed, glancing between Roomi and Julius, alarmed. Julius sent her a shrug and a smile. He didn't really mind as much as he imagined, honestly. But still, it felt awkward.

Walking into the kitchen, he was startled to find the baby following him. He glanced back into the living room and found the girls chatting. They didn't seem to care. Sighing, he awkwardly reached down. Fujiwako giggled and lifted her arms, signaling she was okay with being held.

Lifting her up, he blinked, shocked. She was so… _light_.

Bouncing to make sure, well, her weight was distributed or something stupid, he found that, indeed, she was just that tiny. He scoffed, "We're making you some bacon, flamingo."

Fujiwako blinked, "Fwamingo?"

"It's a pink funny looking bird. Course, you're not a pink funny looking bird."

"Pink birdy!"

"Aww, how'd you get so cute with a mother like that?" he cooed, cracking an egg with one hand.

"I heard that, hooker!"

Julius couldn't help a lazy grin. Well, at least she censored herself. Noticing the baby reaching for his chips, he questioned, peeking out, "She's not allergic to Pringles, is she?"

Roomi actually laughed at that, "No. I don't know what I'd do if my baby was allergic to chips. I'd probably cry."

He snickered and popped the lid, handing her one which she munched on contently, "Chip yum."

"I'm glad, flamingo."

"Flamingo?" echoed Roomi.

Hoshiko laughed wearily, "Julius has a penchant for bizarre nicknames."

Roomi stared at him seriously and he almost felt his heart skip. What was that? What was she doing? Why was he freaking?

"She likes you" Roomi suddenly remarked, "She only clings like that to Jyun, me, and Nelly-papa."

He blanked and laughed nervously, staring at the little girl who indeed was holding him tightly, "But…uh, Hoshiko held her too."

"Well, she doesn't cling" Hoshiko observed as well with a smile.

He pinked a bit and Fujiwako squeaked, "Fwamingo!"

Hoshiko and Roomi laughed and he smirked at her, "Touché, flamingo, touché."

Going back into the kitchen, he peeked back in the living room and bit his lip, saying quietly to Fujiwako who he set on the counter, letting her munch on her Pringles, "…I…can't tell your mama, y'know? That's…that's what she told me. But…but why shouldn't I?"

Fujiwako stared at him curiously and he pressed his lips tightly together as he chopped the veggies, "…I think I'm scared of the consequences."

Fujiwako munched on her chip, looking strangely thoughtful, "Fwamingo sad?"

He cocked a brow at her but laughed, "My name's not 'Flamingo', sweetie. Julius."

"Julsus."

"Close enough" he chuckled.

"Julsus not sad?"

He blinked at her and she gave him a grin, "Julsus happy!"

He was a little confused but realized she must have a limited vocabulary at whatever her tender age was. She was trying to tell him to cheer up? He smiled softly at her, "Julsus isn't sad, honey, just…"

…Well, maybe he was a little sad. Sighing, he shook his head. He…couldn't avoid Roomi forever. She was the woman he loved best friend. And even though he couldn't tell her they had the same father, he supposed he could try to be okay with that. It didn't make a difference or at least it didn't have to. Setting Fujiwako on the floor, he grabbed four plates and walked back in to set them on the table, grabbing a pillow off the recliner and putting it in a chair.

"Flamingo!" he called.

Fujiwako rushed in and Roomi snickered, "Don't confuse my baby."

He snorted and picked her up, setting her on top of the pillow. Hoshiko stood and smiled awkwardly at him, "Aww, you made breakfast for everyone…?"

'Including Roomi?' he got from her tone. He nodded and sat to Fujiwako's left. Hoshiko seemed almost…impressed? Roomi walked over, slamming down, cocking a brow at him.

"What's wrong with you? We don't have a civil relationship."

Julius smirked at that, putting a little bit of jam on Fujiwako's bread, "Correction: we never _tried_ to have a civil relationship."

"Because it was more fun not to, duh."

He snickered, "I'm sorry _I'm_ mature then."

"Oi!"

Hoshiko giggled and Julius chuckled…maybe…

Maybe it would be okay like this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Julius stared at the ring, closing an eye to focus in more on a certain point. It was almost complete. And perfect.

Grinning as he made the last touch, he jumped when there was a knock at the door. Sheesh, who was it? Hoshiko wasn't here.

Her brother was getting married to his sister.

She'd seemed shocked. Her brother getting married, she'd laughed. It was surreal to her. She was a bridesmaid at the upcoming affair. He hid the ring in the cabinet. And hopefully soon, a bride, he chuckled. Opening the door, his eyes widened as Kyo and, well, the male posse stood at the door, glowering.

"Hey" Kyo greeted slowly.

"…Uh, hey."

"You let my sister out naked?"

Julius brow rose high, pursing his lips before smacking them, not expecting anything near that question, "…Noooo?"

Jyun shoved him aside and glared, "They're at a club."

Julius blinked rapidly, "Uh, kay?"

Steiner shoved his hands into his pockets, sulking, "They go to clubs wearing…well, near _nothing_. And men seem to like that…naturally."

This definitely raised his attention. "Men?"

The nodded solemnly and he grunted, "So what's going down?"

"We're going to find them, duh" Kyo snorted, "I'd just hoped you'd heard where Hoshiko went."

He sucked his cheek, closing an eye, "Flash…?"

"Ah!" Joe exclaimed, "Flash 45, it's on Inoka Avenue."

Kurt cocked a brow, "And you'd know?"

Joe glared at his brother and Julius sighed, pulling on his shoes, "Then are we going?"

Oh well, he was bored now and he was going to gloat if his kitten wasn't 'half-naked' for Roomi's debaucheries.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This sucks!"

Inaba Carrie, dressed in a tight mid-drift halter and a pair of leatheresque jeans, glared at all the men having a heart attack and the paparazzi flashing millions of pictures in a matter of seconds. "Why didn't someone remind me I have to wear a freakin' wig to go out?"

Hoshiko just sighed, huddling in the corner. Sucks indeed.

Why she let Roomi convince her to wear this ridiculously small shirt which had the nerve to be backless and a mid-drift, she'd never know. And she'd definitely question the shorts that were…what'd she call them? 'Daisy Dukes'? Ugh, she couldn't stand being ogled. She had nowhere near the chest capacity of anyone here but apparently her ass was enough to make her a standout hit on its own. Damn.

Roomi, staring at her phone rather absently, actually kicked a guy away without looking up, shaking her head, "Gay club."

All the girls looked up, echoing, "Gay club?"

"Uh, yea, the most that could happen is we get hit on by lesbians but let's just say we have a better chance there. At least we can just hang in the group and look like we're together and they'll leave us alone" Roomi rolled her eyes, putting her phone back in her clutch.

"Sounds fantastic" grunted Kaede, glaring at a guy who was blatantly staring at her breasts.

Roomi stood and waved them out, "C'mon guys, let's try to salvage what's left of this crapfest."

They agreed and started to flee. But for some reason Hoshiko couldn't understand, the hyper perverts sensed they were leaving and started to actually grab them. Hoshiko squealed when one guys hand actually wrapped around what cleavage she did have, the bastard!

…So this was why she'd hated men, eh?

Roomi threw some elbows and the guys backed off but Hoshiko wasn't so lucky. They grabbed her bottom and seemed to want to get a _little_ more. And not only that little more but Roomi's chest too. Talk about an overachiever, Hoshiko gritted her teeth.

Of course, this cut the rest of Roomi's short fuse and the next thing Hoshiko knew, the tiny woman had punched the guy in the face. Hoshiko shivered when she heard cartilage pop. Damn.

All the girls were a tad stunned though probably couldn't say they hadn't wanted to but the guy was seeing red obviously, glaring at Roomi, wide-eyed.

"Yo-you f—king bitch!"

"Don't confuse me with you!" Roomi spat, furious.

He growled and grabbed her wrist and actually started to drag her somewhere! Like they were going to let him do that, the bastard! Carrie was already almost on him and Hoshiko and Kaede came in on the other side…but other guys kind of got in the way, still groping them like crazy. This was hell!

Hoshiko had just about enough of this. The guy holding Roomi had actually gotten a foot away from where he'd started though she was putting up quite a fight. Ugh! She elbowed one of her molesters away, trying to get to her soon-to-be sister-in-law but out of absolute nowhere, she felt a gust, a breeze…

She gawked as her brother grabbed the guy by the neck and threw him to the ground.

…Wait a minute, Jyun?

Roomi gawked, absolutely speechless as her future husband went all out on the man, punching him crazily in the face, the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoing through the room almost sickeningly.

"J-Jyun!" Roomi yelped, horrified.

Oh, and the auxiliary men that were groping them most certainly didn't get away with it. Every last husband and boyfriend came, beating them almost like Jyun was Roomi's assailant. Just not _as_ crazy, Jyun was ready to kill the guy! It was like an old-fashioned hoedown…

Hoshiko gasped as arms wrapped around her waist and squealed when she was thrown over a rather familiar shoulder.

Oh mother of God, Julius was there too.

Surprisingly, he grabbed Roomi's wrist and yelled loudly, "C'mon, there's sirens in the back, the cops are coming!"

All the others stopped, shocked, except Jyun. Her brother was…well, _peaceful._ Even when he was fighting with Kyo or something in the past, anyone could tell he had no desire to hurt him or anyone! But…but he was acting so weird. This was truly and sincerely violent.

…What was going on?

Kyo and Carrie grabbed his arm quickly and dragged him away, running towards the exit. Hoshiko grimaced as Julius dragged both her and Roomi out, jumping into the 'getaway limo'.

She bit her lip once they were moving, all the guys yelling loudly at their wives, save for Jyun who was absurdly calm after that show of brutality. She stared at her bare knees before daring a glance at Julius who sat across from her, his eyes wide and almost gaping like he was in disbelief…

"J-Julius…" she started nervously.

"We'll talk when we get home" he growled shortly.

…Oh jeez. Of course, since they were on the mainland, they were the first to get home and she followed him in, arms crossed, head throbbing and very honestly sore. And really, she felt pretty violated. Her eyes widened as dulled memories came back to her and she gawked.

…Did she really just put herself in a situation like that after she nearly got raped?

Julius walked into the kitchen and grabbed himself a beer, silent as he came back and sat on the couch. He stared at her as she recognized just how stupid that was. Growling, he pointed towards their room.

"Go take a shower."

She nodded rapidly, flushed, and rushed in, sobbing a little. Ugh! That was so dumb! She practically played out what Hoji said she was doing: enticing men. What…what was wrong with her?

The warmth calming her, she let out a sigh and wandered into the bedroom, surprised to find Julius sitting on the edge of the bed, glowering at her.

"…Put some clothes on" he muttered.

"I plan on it" she said sharply, kind of getting irritated that he was commanding her around like she was completely stupid.

Dressed at last, she sat on the bed, at length, away from him. He sulked.

"…Did you just…have a moment? Do you realize what you did?" he hissed.

"…A little" she mumbled.

He laughed humorlessly, "A little. Did you leave the house wearing that?"

"Maybe."

Julius launched to his feet, angry, "Stop being so damn apathetic! You could have been hurt tonight, Hoshiko! _Seriously_ hurt!"

"Don't you think I know that!?" she yelled, "You're not my father, Julius, I don't need you to lecture me!"

"So I have to be your father to care about your safety, huh? I have to be your father to be angry that someone could have raped or assaulted you, right?" he said icily, glaring at her, his eyes actually kind of hurt.

She faltered and gazed at the ground, biting her lip, "N-no…"

He growled, frustrated, "Fine, Hoshiko. You have the right to go out with the girls and dance and do…whatever. But for the love of God, do you have any idea how you-you _looked_ in that?"

She squared her shoulders, " _How_?"

"Really damn good."

Hoshiko flustered and he scowled at her, "They had no right to force themselves on you like that but we don't _live_ in an ideal universe, Hoshiko. You _know that_. Had I _been_ that immoral, I probably would have touched you too."

She hugged herself and bit her lip, "O-oh…"

She gasped as he grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. He looked very upset…

"It's not right that they get away with it, I get that but…don't…do that to me. I couldn't even kill enough people to quench my rage if someone hurt you."

"That sounds kind of crazy" she whispered.

"As corny as it sounds, I'm kind of crazy about you" he sighed heavily, letting her go, shaking his head, "Ugh, I'm so mad I didn't get to smash some face in too."

Hoshiko sighed and sat back on the bed, hugging her knees and glancing towards him as he paced. Back there, she recalled why she'd disliked the thought of being with a man. Now she remembered why she loved the one she had.

Standing once more, she walked over to him and hugged his waist, burying her face into his chest, sniffling.

"N-next time, c-come with me?" she whispered.

He laughed shortly, "After that, you want there to be a next time?"

"I think it'd be kind of fun to dance with you" she admitted shyly, "It-it was fun dancing with the girls, I'd never done that before. Even though those perverts seriously ruined it."

He tilted his head down at her and finally smiled, "Dance with me, huh? Might be interesting. I've never danced before."

Hoshiko smiled softly as he led her to the table, setting her down and apparently going to fix her something to eat. "It's okay. I definitely was no Carrie or Roomi…"

"I can only imagine those two" he snorted from the kitchen.

She chuckled and he returned with a cup of tea, the smell of soup drifting from the kitchen. Hoshiko cleared her throat and smiled nervously. "I thought it was kind of cute how you grabbed Roomi…"

"Well, she had that deer in the headlight's look so I thought she wasn't going to move on her own."

Hoshiko nodded and crossed her arms, sighing, "I hope Jyun's not too mad at Roo. She just…wanted to do something."

"Yea, well, next time do us all a favor and tell us if you're going to dance around drunk ass pervs. She can dance at her wedding."

Hoshiko blinked, "We can dance there!"

He snickered and walked in, setting the soup in front of her, "And at ours."

She blushed, spooning the soup up and blowing it, "And when would that be?"

"Whenever you want" he shrugged airily.

Hoshiko pouted, "Baka, you haven't even asked me."

Julius sighed and went into the bedroom. Hoshiko cocked a brow but finished her soup in silence. When he returned, his phone in hand, he connected it to their stereo.

"You know, we never had a song. How do we begin to choose?"

Hoshiko stood, walking over, and smirked, "I don't know, shuffle it."

"

He snickered, "Random it is."

A soft guitar rift came and he groaned, "Might be a bit too cute for my taste."

Hoshiko laughed sleepily, "Maybe a sort of slow song would be okay…"

He sighed, taking her into his arms, holding her waist, "I don't think I can have a song by a _German_ band called _Tokio_ Hotel in _English_ as our song."

She giggled, "It's weird, kind of like us."

Julius chuckled, "I guess I can live with that."

 _I'm staring at a broken door_

 _There's nothing left here anymore_

 _The room is cold, it's making me insane._

 _I've been waiting here so long_

 _But now the moment seems to have come_

 _I see the dark clouds coming up again_

 _Running through the monsoon_

 _Beyond the world_

 _Till the end of time where the rain won't hurt_

 _Fighting the storm_

 _Into the blue_

 _And when I lose myself, I think of you_

 _Together we'll be running somewhere new_

 _Through the monsoon_

 _Just me and you…_

 _A half moon's fading from my sight_

 _I see your vision in it's light_

 _But now it's gone and left me so alone…_

 _I know I have to find you now_

 _Can't hear your name I don't know how_

 _Why can't we make this darkness feel like home?_

 _Running through the monsoon_

 _Beyond the world_

 _Till the end of time where the rain won't hurt_

 _Fighting the storm_

 _Into the blue_

 _And when I lose myself, I think of you_

 _Together we'll be running somewhere new_

 _And nothing can hold me back from you_

 _Through the monsoon_

 _Hey, ooh…_

 _Hey, ooh…_

 _I'm fighting all this power coming in my way_

 _Let it take me straight to you_

 _I'll be running night and day_

 _I'll be with you soon…_

 _Just me and you…_

 _We'll be there you soon…_

 _So soon…_

 _Running through the monsoon_

 _Beyond the world_

 _Till the end of time where the rain won't hurt_

 _Fighting the storm_

 _Into the blue_

 _And when I lose myself, I think of you_

 _Together we'll be running somewhere new_

 _And nothing can hold me back from you_

 _Through the monsoon_

 _Through the monsoon_

 _Just me and you…_

 _Through the monsoon_

 _Just me and…you…_

She closed her eyes and he laughed tiredly, "I…I think I had so much stopping me from accepting that I love you, y'know? My relationship with my aunt, my coping with my mother… _me._ And…and my inability to deal, to cope…it…it almost made me lose you."

Hoshiko frowned and looked up at him as he gazed at her seriously, "…And…I won't let it happen again."

She blanched as he scowled thoughtfully, pulling out the ring, "So how do I do this? Drop on one knee? Pop the question? What?"

"J-Julius…" she blubbered.

He chuckled and knelt, kissing the back of her hand, "So will you do me the honor? Be my wife?"

She swallowed visibly and nodded rapidly and he laughed, "I want a _verbal_ answer so you can't back out easy, silly."

"I-I wouldn't back out, idiot!" she cried, dropping in front of him and hugging him tightly.

Rubbing her back, he closed his eyes, "You might be a bit pissed at me but I… _kind of_ took a chunk of your beloved stone."

She pulled away, looking confused, and he showed her the ring. She gasped and he bit his lip, smiling nervously, "See, I uh, made the actual band out of the stone. But that seemed to be flimsy so I did some hardcore stuff and filled the inside with silver before setting the diamond in there. I, uh, know you loved that stone so I didn't take a lot but…"

"You made this for me?" she asked, raspy.

"W-well yea, I wasn't really satisfied with those engagement rings they had out there so…"

He was surprised that she hugged him so tightly, taking the ring from him and placing it on her finger, biting her lip, "I…I love it. I don't mind that you took a little of the jewel from the cave. Now I have a piece to look at forever…"

Julius grinned, satisfied, "Sweet. So want to wait a couple, uh, millennia to tell your family?"

Hoshiko pouted, "After Jyun and Roomi are married. Or, you know, a little while after that to let dad get settled more."

"I suppose" he sighed, "Think we can, uh, secretly plan the wedding at least?"

"Absolutely" she gasped loudly, "I want to start now!"

"It's three in the morning, woman, we're going to bed. You can plan tomorrow" he snorted, grasping her waist, leading her towards the bedroom.

She pouted, "Okay. What do you think I should do with that club outfit, since you're my future husband? Eek, it's so weird!"

He smirked at her before winking, "Whatever you want, kitten. I'd prefer you walking around the house in it so I can enjoy it."

She snorted before giggling contently. She was engaged?

…Maybe everything wasn't all that bad.

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 **2018 Edit:** There was a fucking iPod in like 2050.

(x) **EDIT** : By the time this was written the 4th generation was "new" (though the 5th was being ushered in). Considering how far into the future this takes place, I'm sure they have some more advanced feature than shaking it to shuffle but just for my purposes

(Old note)Well, I am so happy with my brand new 4th Generation iPod Nano…and you can shake it to shuffle songs which is a cute little add-on. And I guess this was a stupid little play on topics, as Shake It is also a song by Metro Station…

(xx) Song was Monsoon by Tokio Hotel, a German band, that was translated into English (x.x).


	17. The Two F's

**Chapter 17:** The Two F's

 **Author's Note:** So I indeed failed to complete this before school… though I only really have a couple points left in the epilogue and could finish it if I wasn't so drained. In fact, I've actually had this finished up for a long time, I don't know why it's taken me so long to post it…x.x Either way, here is the next to last chapter. I'd say more, but I sleepy.

Enjoy!

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"Whattya-what-what?"

Hoshiko stared in a magazine, gazing up at her fiancé, "I think a Shinto wedding would be awesome! All my cousins have had Western ones and none of them have had a Shinto one!"

Julius looked mortified, "B-but Hoshi! My number one dream is to wear Armani at my wedding! I'd have to dress like that guy from Hikaru no Go if we had a Shinto wedding!"

She smirked, "You're really going to reference a manga?"

"This is serious, Hoshi, you're attempting to crush my dreams."

She smirked and sighed, "I guess…"

He groaned and stroked his hair back, "If…you want, we can though…"

Hoshiko laughed, dropping the magazine and stood to hug him, kissing his lips, "Silly, I've never spent a second thinking about my wedding because I never thought I'd have one. If you actually have dreamed of wearing Armani then I want it to happen."

He let out a breath and she walked away, shrugging, "I'll talk to my grandma about it tomorrow. She always designs the dresses so I want it to be special."

"But we are waiting a bit after your brother's wedding, right? I don't want to seem like we're copying" he said warily.

"How long?"

"A few months, maybe. Have everything planned so when we do say we're engaged the wedding can be the next day" he nodded.

Hoshiko laughed again, kicking him lightly, "We are so not doing that to my papa but it sounds like a plan besides the spontaneous wedding day."

"Okay" he chuckled.

She really still couldn't believe it four days later. **She** was engaged. Biting her lip to contain her squeal of excitement, she skipped over to her laptop and opened it to look at what kind of venues would be interesting.

Shimizu Hoshiko…

She smiled brightly. Nothing could take this from her. Nothing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…Cept…maybe this.

Hoshiko bit her lip, looking at her brother who was silently sitting in the pew. He was handsome in his wedding attire, a long crisp black dress jacket, his hair pulled back. He was waiting.

Their mother again.

Jyun had been in a funk for a while. Roomi had noticed it more than them as she lived with him, alas. Come to find out today, after their father spoke with him, that the reason was…

Their mother wasn't planning to attend.

When Jyun turned twenty, their mother got pretty nervous because he hadn't brought a woman home to them like the other cousins. She started trying to hook him up by the time he was 24. 26, she cried endlessly that she didn't want him to be alone his whole life. 28, she'd numbly retired. 29 to 30, 31, she had renewed hope that she'd see a wedding. And now, at 34, she declined to come to a wedding Jyun hadn't even wanted to invite her to but decided he would because…he wanted to see her.

…If the woman wouldn't come to Jyun's wedding, what about hers?

Ugh, she wished it didn't sound so hypocritical but…but maybe she did want her mother to be at her wedding. She…she might be able to "forgive" the woman enough…but if she declined Jyun's wedding, something she'd assumed in the latter days would never happen, what chance would she have?

Glancing to her boyfriend who had his arms crossed, looking thoughtful, she bit her lip. She…she wouldn't let it bother her too much yet. Their father, bless his sweet heart, had actually ran off to get their mother to reconsider, asking Roomi to postpone the wedding which she did gratefully. Hoshiko assumed that it wouldn't take long…

…Until about nearly two hours passed.

Maybe she just had to get dressed, Hoshiko told herself. That-that might take a little while! But suddenly, Koji came out and looked absolutely frustrated.

"Jyun doesn't want to wait anymore…"

Roomi gawked, "What? But dad's not back!"

"Yea, but…" Koji mumbled silently.

Roomi bit her lip and Hoshiko gaped…but…

She went down the aisle slowly, forcing a smile. This…this couldn't be right. She wanted to run up to her brother and demand what the hell he was doing? Their mother could be on the way if he'd just wait! But making her way to the side where the maids went, she waited for Roomi. There was a pause and Jyun stood, biting his lip.

Roomi appeared, Nelly by her side, surprisingly.

...But no mama.

Hoshiko felt her heart clench and she quickly glanced to her brother. The flash of hurt on his face disappeared almost instantaneously. He smiled faintly and though she admired her brother for being so strong, it absolutely broke her heart.

…What on Earth had happened?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Having second thoughts, kitten?"

Yagami Hoshiko gasped when Julius wandered out behind her where she was sitting in the garden, staring at the ring he'd given her just a few days ago, something that had made her so happy…

Now…now she wasn't so sure.

He sat and sighed, staring at her, "I hope not."

"I'm not…" she smiled wistfully, "Just…wondering what this even means, when someone can cheat on someone, when someone can spend their whole lives wishing for something and miss it when it happens. Just…what's the point?"

Julius sighed again and glanced out at the trees, "Your mother has her reasons, bunny. They may not be good reasons or reasons we understand or…just anything, but it was her choice. And I bet when she's looking back, she's going to ask how on Earth she missed her son's wedding."

"…And ours" she mumbled.

His eyes widened and he bowed his head, laughing humorlessly, "And…possibly ours, yes."

Hoshiko bowed her head and he snarled, kissing her forehead, "My Aunt, my mother of sorts, will probably die when she hears I'm going to marry you. And you know what? If she can't accept it, she's not coming. And…and you know, as mad as I am at her, that makes me sad. She's…she's the closest thing to a parent I have."

Hoshiko stared at him sadly, "I'm sorry. You're right. I have at least my…whole family."

He chuckled and hugged her tight, "It's hard to replace a mother's love, bunny, no matter the fact your family could fill a continent."

She laughed and sighed airily, glancing back inside where Jyun and Roomi were dancing, the woman looking content, as did Jyun. "I guess…it's okay then."

Julius stood, taking her hand, "C'mon, you're the sister of the groom, you can't hide out here."

Hoshiko replaced her ring on her hand and nodded, wandering back in with Julius at her side, holding her hand. Squealing, she was stunned when Jyun about rushed her, picking her up and laughing as he swung her around.

"C'mere, baby sister. Big brother's on a roll, dancing with all the chicks here."

"Jyun!"

But she couldn't help laugh a little, the song 'Little Sister' actually playing despite the fact it was nearly impossible to dance to. He snickered and signaled the DJ to 'slow it down'. Hoshiko chuckled and hugged him tightly as he danced with her.

"I can't believe you're married, you baka."

"You and me both, sister."

She giggled and closed her eyes, "…How do you feel?"

Jyun sighed, "Naturally pretty upset but…it's her life and this is mine. I…I just have to move on. I have a family now…"

"You've always had a family" she pouted.

He chuckled, "Ah, true. My own little limbs to add to the family tree then."

Hoshiko smiled, "I was kidding, sort of. I know what you mean."

"Mm, but you're right though" he sighed, smiling before cocking a brow, "And uh, I thought our SO's hated each other?"

Hoshiko's brows furrowed before following his gaze, surprised to find Julius and Roomi actually chatting slightly. She smiled after a moment.

"…Well, maybe there's more family building than you can imagine."

"…?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Five months.

Where was she having her wedding? A beautiful high rise ceremony hall in the city. She'd fallen in love with it as soon as Julius pointed it out. What had she picked? Cake, music, food, bride's maid's gowns…everything! So what was left?

Well, telling everyone they were engaged. And eh, her dress, but she'd leave that to her grandmother when she got that first part down.

Her heart fluttered as they walked to family dinner night. Tonight she'd tell them, tell them her happiness. Her dad and brothers would probably freak but they'd understand once they saw just how absolutely happy she was.

Smiling as she sat, she looked to Julius, giddy, who gave her a warm smile back. He seemed a little more nervous, naturally. It'd be him her brother's attacked.

"I want to marry you" she said simply.

"Likewise, kitten, likewise."

She giggled happily and hugged him when the others came in. Kyo gagged and she stuck out her tongue. He'd have to get used to it, the baka. Everyone arrived. The only one missing was Jyun. She had to wait for him…

He was happily married and everything, Roomi and him going extremely strong. Fujiwako had even started addressing the man as 'daddy'. That kind of startled her, as did it Roomi and Jyun. But they said she just picked it up, no one told her to call him such so, well, she wanted to which was kind of cute.

Hoshiko nearly clapped when Jyun wandered in, Roomi by his side and Fujiwako in his arms. Yes, finally!

Hoshiko cocked an eyebrow though when Jyun pulled Kyo from his seat and shoved him into a less comfy chair.

"Oi! The hell, bitch?"

"Watch your mouth around my baby girl" Jyun glared, covering one of Fujiwako's ears.

Kyo smirked and Jyun put Roomi in the spot he threw Kyo from, "You know, you could have just asked. I would have given my seat up for Roo, I like her more than you."

Roomi giggled and Jyun propped his hands on his hips, giving him a look, "Well noted."

Jyun picked Roomi up and sat under her, placing her in his lap, glowering, "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, you" she stuck out her tongue, "You're being kind of nutty, you know?"

"Meh."

"What's going on?" questioned Kaede.

Hoshiko opened her mouth, ready to proclaim her news when Jyun got a really cheesy grin on his face. Roomi sighed, smirking at him. "I'm pregnant."

Hoshiko gawked and Julius' eyes widened. All the cousins just kind of stared before Kaede questioned: "Eh?"

"I'm pregnant" she sighed again.

"…Seriously?" questioned Keiji, eyes wide, "With…his baby?"

"It better be my baby" snorted Jyun playfully.

"It _might_ be Kyo's" Roomi sighed airily.

Kyo winked at her and Jyun just stared, "Oh, that shouldn't make me nervous. It shouldn't but it does."

The others laughed and Kurt snickered, "Well, congratulations though…"

Hoshiko sent a look of exasperation to her fiancé who just rolled his eyes around. There was no way on Earth they could have a wedding and a pregnant person in the family…especially when the pregnant person was pregnant with _Jyun's_ baby. It was a damn miracle! She sighed heavily and Roomi frowned, tapping her with her toe from her seat.

"Hey, you look awfully depressed by my having your niece or nephew, you!"

Hoshiko laughed despite herself, "I'm more stunned."

…And now she had to wait another nine months. But soon!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…Okay, nine months wasn't soon enough.

By about five, she was pretty much losing her mind. She wanted to be married now! Rubbing her arms, sighing, she walked with Julius who was extremely patient with all this towards her brother's house. She'd tell Jyun first, at least. Maybe he could give his blessing.

She cocked a brow when Roomi let her in before rushing off, complaining her son was sitting on her bladder. Hoshiko cringed. Sounded delightful…

But her brow rose and she laughed, finding her brother in the kitchen, actually dancing around, listening to…

"Lady Gaga, Jyun?" Hoshiko grinned.

He turned, cocking a brow, sighing almost shamefully, "Roomi's girlified me."

Hoshiko laughed again, jabbing him, "Don't worry, you were always pretty girly."

Jyun stuck out his tongue and Roomi reappeared, hugging his waist, "I got him to listen to my complete Britney Spear's collection."

"Yea. At least I can somehow get through Lady Gaga without a little of my soul dying while singing 'Oops, I Did It Again'."

Hoshiko giggled and Jyun leaned down, kissing Roomi chastely, "Sit, woman."

"I can't, the baby gets all disgruntled!"

Jyun rubbed her extended stomach, glaring down at it, "Stop getting disgruntled so your mama can get off her feet. Her ankles are about the same size of her foot and if they swell to balloons…"

Julius snickered and Roomi started to knee Jyun from her height, giving her a certain trajectory... "Oi, woman, don't damage the family jewels."

Hoshiko smirked and frowned as the door opened behind her, revealing Kyo and a lot of cousins.

"Oh hells yes, it's a party" Kyo announced.

"I wanna party" pouted Roomi.

Out of nowhere, a brunette Carrie pranced in, "It's a dance off!"

Hoshiko couldn't help laugh as Jyun and Carrie started to dance randomly and crazily, mirroring each other. "You guys are so weird."

Kaede smirked, brows raising, "I remember they'd randomly do that all throughout high school too...in the middle of class."

Carrie laughed, Jyun handing her a Smirnoff, "It was pretty effin' fun."

"My favorite was the random hip hop dances they'd pull in the middle of raves" snorted Keiji, accepting a Heineken.

Jyun cocked a brow, "I don't recall that at all. I must've been drunk."

"No, you two were definitely sober. You'd randomly do it in public too."

Kyo 'mm'd', taking a long swig of his beer, "I remember that! We were on Youtube of the Past and randomly shuffling through music videos or something and they saw that one dance. It had some really weird ass name, 'stanky' or something…"

Hoshiko cocked a brow and Jyun just looked confused before laughing, clapping, "Oh yea, that was the s—t."

Roomi's brow rose as she drank a virgin pina colada, "Um?"

Hoshiko's eyes widened as Carrie and Jyun randomly kind of knelt, extending one leg, and started rolling their knee. Roomi laughed, raising a brow, "The f—k?"

"Oh my God, it was so hilarious. Like crowds of people would stop and stare. It was even better when people joined in" grinned Kaede.

"I always liked that they'd do it when they were in all their punk clothing" chuckled Kyo.

Jyun chuckled, rising to stand, and sighed, "We were pretty crazy."

Roomi groaned, rubbing her stomach with a glower, "Your son is hungry, Mr. Yagami."

Jyun 'mm'd' and went back over to continue cooking. Roomi sighed and grunted, "I can tell I'm not all that hungry but this monster…"

Hoshiko cooed, rubbing her sister-in-law's belly, "He's not a monster."

"Yet" snorted Julius.

"Oi, you" grunted Roomi, actually poking him with her belly.

Julius seemed squeamish and Hoshiko laughed as Roomi smirked, "What?"

" _T_ _hat's_ a baby" he said, aghast.

"Good work, Sherlock! I hope you can figure that one out with Hoshi too."

"Over my dead damn body" snarled Jyun, returning.

Carrie smirked, her hands on her hips, "What's so wrong with having a kid, huh? You didn't freak when _I_ had a kid."

"Are you kidding? I nearly had an aneurysm" Jyun snorted.

The former blonde opened her mouth for a moment before looking surprised. She quickly smiled and…shrugged. Jyun just sighed. Hoshiko scowled. Those two always had a lot of secrets between them…

"Anyway, Hoshiko showed up first so let's deal with what you want" Jyun commented.

She smirked, "I can't just visit you?" 

"You can, but you wouldn't."

Hoshiko laughed and jabbed him, "Baka."

"…Hey, what's that?"

Hoshiko blinked and gasped a little when he grabbed her hand, eyes wide, "That's a funky ring you got there. It's kind of cool though."

Roomi cocked a brow, eating the noodles Jyun handed her, "You're wearing it on the engaged finger."

Her pulse started to race. Oh crap. Kyo came over to observe this before giving them both a dark glare. "…You didn't ask my baby sister to marry you, did you?"

"Yep" Julius said rather at ease.

Kyo's eyes narrowed but the girls squealed, congratulating her. Roomi seemed ecstatic.

"How long have you been engaged? Did he just ask?"

Hoshiko slowly grinned nervously, "Uh, actually, it was almost ten months ago."

Roomi stared at her and the others cocked a brow, "You've been engaged for almost a _year_ and you didn't bother telling us?"

"We wanted to wait until the hype of your wedding died down" groaned Hoshiko, " _And_ we were going to actually tell everyone the day you announced you were pregnant…"

"You silly bimbo, you don't hold off announcing your engagement because I'm getting married or because I'm pregnant" scolded Roomi.

Jyun just cocked a brow and was tapping his fingertips against the marble counter, "I don't know how I feel about this."

"I can tell you how _I_ feel about it: no" snarled Kyo.

Hoshiko rolled her eyes and Julius seemed serious, "I swear I'll take care of your sister though."

"It's not even about that" Kaede rolled her eyes, "Brothers just seem to get possessive clingy when they think that someone's going to take their precious sister away."

Keiji snorted, "Steiner looked like someone straight out of the yakuza!"

"Ugh, you were such a jerk, I'll never forget" she grunted.

Jyun smirked at them, "True enough, Keiji was a certified ass back in the day."

Keiji flicked him off and Jyun grinned, "And now."

He turned to Hoshiko and sighed, "Well, it's about as strange as me getting married, but…you…have my blessing."

Hoshiko's eyes brightened, "Really?"

"Yea…" he sighed wearily before glowering at Julius, "And I swear to God, if anything happens to her…"

"It won't" Julius smiled sincerely, "It won't."

Hoshiko tucked her arms behind her back and looked to Kyo sweetly. His arms were crossed and he glared at her.

"No, you're not getting my blessing."

"Why are you being a jerk to your sister now, baka son of mine?"

Hoshiko jumped, surprised, when her father came in, holding a box of baby things, sighing, "Roomi, this stuff is effin' ancient. Do you know how old that punk you married is?"

"I'm in my prime, old man!" Jyun said haughtily.

Roomi giggled and looked through the box for a moment before clapping, "Ah wait! Hoshi, tell your papa the good news!"

…Oh crap.

"Uh" smiled Hoshiko nervously, "It can wait."

"Dad, Hoshiko _thinks_ she's engaged" snarled Kyo instead.

"Ugh! Ass!"

The man's eyes widened and he stared between her and Julius, "…Really?"

Hoshiko bit her lip and nodded. The man laughed awkwardly, "Woah, that's…weird."

"Daddy…" she whined, seeing that he didn't seem to know how to take this.

After a moment though, he rolled his eyes at Kyo, "Don't make this difficult. You knew it was coming."

"Maybe I knew but I didn't want it to" grumbled Kyo grouchily.

Hoshiko pouted at him and Nelly smiled, hugging her waist, "I'm happy for you, baby."

"So you're okay with it?"

"I never said _that_ but…I'm happy for you."

He shook Julius' hand and gave him a look, "You…are going to be one weird ass son-in-law."

"Oh, extremely, sir."

They laughed and Hoshiko sent Kyo a smug look, "Well…?"

"…Whatever" he grumbled, "I guess it doesn't really make a difference, you're already living together."

"Yep."

He sighed and gave her a tiny smile before obviously needing to sit and digest it. Carrie cooed, "Aww, that's so cute."

"Bleh."

Hoshiko clapped, absolutely giddy. Everyone knew! "So Roomi, will you be my maid-of-honor? I don't have any sisters."

"Nope."

Hoshiko gaped, giving her a hurt, confused, and shocked expression. Roomi just rolled her eyes around, "I'm sorry, honey, but you notice this speed bump at five months? If your wedding is in like a month or two or three, it'll be a certified hill."

Hoshiko laughed at that and Jyun snorted, "I think you're still good to go."

"You would, wouldn't you?" she sighed with a smile before giving Hoshiko a sad look, "Of course I'd love to but uh, it'd have to wait if you really wanted me to. I'm tired a lot and really, with preparations it'd be hard to call what my body size will be down the line. I don't want you to have to wait."

"It's fine" Hoshiko assured, "The place we're renting doesn't have an opening for another few months so we can wait until the baby's born."

Roomi sucked her cheek, "But I'll still be fat unless I just go into straight dieting mode."

"Of which I won't allow" Jyun crossed his arms, jabbing her, "You look perfectly fine, I don't know what the big deal is."

"I understand how Roomi feels. I was mortified by the idea of being pregnant at a wedding" Kaede admitted.

"Yea, but that was _your_ wedding" Jyun pointed out.

She stuck out her tongue, "All the same."

Hoshiko glanced back at Julius questioningly and he shrugged, "I don't mind waiting if that's what you want."

Hoshiko clapped and nodded. Nelly sighed, "Well, inform your grandmother. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic…"

"We should celebrate!" clapped Kaede, "How about we go drop in and visit Tenshiya for dessert?"

Kyo's eyes suddenly brightened, "Oh my God, you think he has that banana cake stuff?"

"Should."

"Sweet!" he said, happy again.

Jyun snickered, "Always remember Kyo's forever distraction: anything edible."

Roomi laughed, starting to waddle away, "Let me go get Fujiwako then."

Jyun grunted, "Stop doing stuff, you, I'll go get her."

Roomi sighed and Keiji chuckled, texting his son apparently, "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure all the women went through that."

They all groaned in agreement and Hoshiko smiled. Everything was so great. She just really hoped it stayed that way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yagami Hoshiko sat, staring at the invitation for a long moment before biting her lip. What on Earth to do…?

…Her mother wouldn't come to her wedding, would she? If she couldn't be bothered to come to Jyun's, why should she be any different?

Pursing her lips, she started to throw the invite into the trash can but faltered and stared at the address for a while before sighing heavily, dropping it back into the pile and heading for the mailbox. Whatever. She didn't have a decline box on hers like Jyun had had so it'd just be a surprise if she showed up, not an instantaneous punch in the face.

Dropping them off, she smiled as she opened her phone, gazing at her dress. Her grandmother had really outdone herself on it, taking her idea to have a Shinto wedding but Julius' desire to wear something Western into consideration and making a beautifully modern yet traditional Japanese wedding dress. Hoshiko loved it. Ha, ten years ago she wouldn't have dreamed she'd love a dress. Hell, ten years ago she wouldn't have dreamed she'd be getting married.

Frowning for a moment, she smiled at her phone, clicking 'answer': "Hi baby."

"Hey, Kitten. What are you up to?" Shimizu Julius questioned.

"Just dropped off the invitations" she sighed happily, "And now I'm considering going to stare at my dress for a few hours."

"Sheesh, that thing must be awesome. You spend more time with it than me."

"Nah uh!"

He chuckled huskily, "I'm kidding. But do you want to have a late lunch with me? I'm starving and I don't want to be lonely."

"Of course" she agreed, "Where do you want to go?"

She blinked when she got another call, "One sec, Julius."

Clicking over, she frowned at the beeping in the background, "Kyo?"

"Oi, Hoshi, the baby's popping out."

That seriously caught her off guard. "What?"

"You're about to be an aunt" he remarked dryly, "Just thought you'd want to know."

Gasping, Hoshiko stopped, quickly moving to a corner on the sidewalk as not to impede traffic, "Really? Roo's in labor?"

"Yep."

"Okay, I'll be there soon!"

Clicking back to her fiancé, she bit her lip, "Baby, something just came up…"

"Psh, it always does" he said almost huffily.

Hoshiko pouted, playing with a curl of her slightly longer hair, "I'm sorry. But uh, we're about to be an aunt and uncle."

"…Eh? I thought the baby wasn't due for another few days?"

"Doesn't always work that way" she smiled, excited, as she headed towards the bullet train.

"…Alright. Give her my best. And uh, I guess send me a picture of the booger when you can."

Hoshiko felt the kind of disappointment in his voice. Overall, him and Roomi got along considerably better than before. Naturally, they still traded endless insults but it was more…chivalrous. Hoshiko got the idea that Julius even started thinking of Roomi as a sibling. Just he got depressed when he couldn't _really_ treat her that way.

"You know you can always come too" she insisted, "It wouldn't be weird, you're my future husband."

"Aww, and that makes me all tingly" he said cheerfully, "But nah, I can only take a thirty minute lunch break at most, we're pretty busy. I'll probably just grab some noodles since you're going to the hospital."

"No, no, I'll come still" she assured.

Julius probably cocked a brow, "Uh yea, and miss our nephew's birth? No. Go. I want at least one of us there."

"…All right. I love you, okay?"

"I love you too, bunny."

Clicking off, she grimaced. Julius had no family coming to their wedding. None. That just made her feel so awful. But in his strange optimism, he told her that was fine; He was creating a new one at the event lacking his own. That was sweet…

…But still.

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"…Did you steal your brother's baby?"

Yagami Hoshiko walked in, carrying a car seat, and stuck out her tongue, "Noooo, Jyun and Roomi wanted to grab some food and I offered to take Kamon off their hands."

Yagami Kamon, her little nephew…

When she walked in, it was too late and the fireworks had come to a close, just leaving behind her incredibly adorable little nephew. She was really surprised because, well, so many years ago, this would have sent all three siblings into a unified fit of hysterical laughter, no matter the fact they hated each other. Jyun married and having a baby? Ridiculous! But nowadays, he was just so happy and they were all happy for him.

He was a pretty little thing, she thought with a giggle, setting the seat on the coffee table, unsnapping the restraints. Kamon was definitely Jyun's son, he looked just like him, save for Roomi's blue eyes. He gazed at her sleepily as she took him out, cooing and kissing his cheek. Julius smirked. "That is going to be one spoiled baby."

She pouted, "He's _so_ precious though. I hope our babies are this chill too! He never cries, Roomi says, except when his sleep is interrupted."

Julius grinned lazily, playing with a strand of his hair, "You know good and well our babies will be absolute spazzes just to spite us."

Hoshiko just groaned and slammed down beside him, "I can hope, can't I?"

Julius chuckled and leaned over, nuzzling the baby's nose, "Hey there, buddy."

"No silly nicknames for this one?" smirked Hoshiko.

"I don't want to confuse him, he's pretty fresh."

Hoshiko laughed, "He's not a vegetable."

Turning sideways, she held him out and Julius stared at her, wide-eyed, "What…?"

"Hold him!"

"N-no, that's okay" he said anxiously.

But she pressed and he sighed, taking the baby and blinked rapidly, "…Are they _really_ supposed to be this light?"

Hoshiko nodded and he sighed, staring at Kamon who stared back at him, "You and Flamingo are just too feathery. Uncle Julius is going to fry you something to fatten you up. Yes I am, yes I am."

Hoshiko laughed, standing to put on tea, "He's like a month old!"

Julius snorted and cooed when Kamon reached up to grab his lips, "Why, hello there!"

He gabbled and Julius smiled, "…He is a pretty little fellow."

Hoshiko nodded in agreement and blinked towards the door when it rang. Jyun and Roomi wandered in with a plastic bag and Fujiwako at their feet, her tiny arms crossed, looking disgruntled. Roomi scowled. "You better not drop my baby!"

"Wouldn't dream of it" snorted Julius.

Jyun snickered and Julius handed Kamon off to him, Jyun resting the small baby to his chest as he sat, grabbing a carton of Chinese food with one hand, "He's way too easy on us. I imagined a baby that just cried endlessly but he doesn't do anything."

Roomi giggled, sitting beside him and grabbing a carton of food for herself before handing some to Julius. He blinked, "Oh? For me?"

"Well, since we're being civil" she snorted.

Julius chuckled, accepting it with a 'thanks' and grabbing the chopsticks Hoshiko handed him as she sat, serving the tea. Jyun smirked down at Fujiwako who glared at him crossly.

"Baby, daddy _promises_ he will play tea party with you when we get home. Promise!"

Fujiwako didn't seem to buy and huffed. Hoshiko chuckled, "Does she feel abandoned with the new baby?"

"Nah, she's pretty into him herself" Jyun remarked, "She's just mad I didn't let her bring her tea set."

"Aww, Flamingo" cooed Julius.

Fujiwako grumpily came and sat between him and Hoshiko, glaring at Jyun. Jyun pouted.

"My baby hates me."

Hoshiko chuckled and Kamon shifted around under his blanket and stared at Jyun before yawning, kicking a little. Jyun smiled down at him, "You'll play tea party too, huh, Kam?"

He gurgled and Fujiwako's eyes widened as if she just realized the baby was there and skipped over, crawling up next to Jyun and pressing her nose to Kamon's, something she'd apparently done the first time they'd met. He made a squeaky sound in response. Fujiwako looked up at Jyun cutely.

"Kamon play tea party?"

"He's a little tiny right now, baby, but as soon as he can hold his own tea cup, you bet."

Fujiwako nodded, affirming this, "Kamon is small."

He gabbled and Hoshiko cooed when Fujiwako gave him a kiss, "That's so sweet!"

"Yep, complete opposite of our sibling trio" sighed Jyun.

Hoshiko laughed, "I think Kyo would have sooner bit me."

"And it would have been more out of hunger than anything."

They laughed and Hoshiko suddenly noted that Roomi was eating steamed vegetables. She scowled, "Roomi, you aren't on a diet, are you?"

"Uh, duh, sweetie. I've seen the maid of honor gown your grandma designed, I need to be about ten pounds lighter" Roomi remarked, waving a hand.

Jyun sulked, "You're fine, Roomi."

"Yea" Hoshiko assured.

"And I think I'm not!"

Silence fell and all attention turned to Julius as the deciding vote. He gazed around before clearing his throat." You're uh…"

Roomi cocked a brow and Jyun crossed his arms, glowering, as Julius grinned nervously, "…Short?"

"No kidding" snickered Roomi, "But that wasn't the question."

"I mean, it depends! How do _you_ feel about yourself?" he shrugged awkwardly, "I don't think you really have to starve yourself."

"Aww, that's so sweet! But really, water weight" she waved a hand, "I promise, I'll eat cookies after the wedding or eat half your cake."

Hoshiko chuckled, "Done."

"So Julius, will we be meeting any of your family at this event?" questioned Jyun.

Hoshiko froze and quickly started to insert something but Julius smiled faintly, "No. My mother died when I was young and…I don't have a father."

Hoshiko hid her grimace and Roomi frowned, "That's so sad. You don't have any aunts or anything?"

"Well, I suppose I can try to reconcile with her" he said awkwardly, "It has been a few years…"

…For some reason, that didn't sit well with Hoshiko but she smiled supportively at her fiancé. But…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I want the most scenic room in the place. Yea, I can cover the costs."

Shimizu Julius stared at the hotel in the country of Austria on his laptop. It was a little off the path of what usually was considered a romantic honeymoon but, hey, they could visit the home of Swarovski!

He blinked when his screen clicked to a room and he nodded, "That's perfect. I want it for a week."

Typing in his credit card number, he blinked when the doorbell rang. Huh, who was that? Standing, he thanked the man for his service over the phone. Ah well, maybe it was the florist dropping off some stuff for the wedding…

"Hello, Julius?"

He stared at the woman with a heavy tan and blonde bleach hair and a lot of make-up. She wore a short mid-drift and a short pleated skirt with thigh high boots.

"…Hi?" he echoed, at a bit of a loss. He really didn't get the idea his future brothers-in-law would send a stripper so what was going on?

"Oh good" she said brightly.

Next thing he knew, he was pinned to the floor, the woman straddling his waist, leaning over him with a smile, "I'm supposed to seduce you."

"… _What_?"

He shoved the brazen woman off and glared heatedly, "What the f—k is your problem?! Seduce me?!"

"Yea!" she pouted, "Mira-san sent me."

…She _had_ to be kidding.

"…My _aunt_ sent you to _seduce_ me?"

"Something about you making a mistake and wanting you to see other options" she shrugged absently.

Julius stared at her before laughing humorlessly, "Well, ganguro-chan, tell my aunt this: go to hell."

She squealed as he grasped her elbow, furious, and started to shove her out, only to _naturally_ find Hoshiko standing on the other side of the door, gazing at him rather sleepily before her eyes widened. He gawked, speechless for a moment, before blurting.

"Hoshi, this is _definitively_ not how it looks!"

"It could be" winked the ganguro.

"Shut up!" he growled, irate, "Tell my aunt that I unsend that invitation and hope I never see her again! Good bye!"

Shoving her out, pulling Hoshiko in, he gritted his teeth and started to pace, his action to replace breaking something. Hoshiko crossed her arms and glanced back over her shoulder.

"…So… _what_ was that?"

"Mm, my aunt thought I could use a 'comparison'" he said bitterly, sitting.

Hoshiko sighed heavily and sat, "So I guess that means she won't be attending."

"If she wants me to kill her, she can."

Hoshiko stared outward before shaking her head, "Why does she hate me so much? I…I never thought she could hate me _this_ much. It's ridiculous that I was this blind."

Julius grunted and pulled her into his side, "Don't even worry about it, sweetie. This wedding will be fine without her."

"…And maybe without my mom too."

"Hmm?"

"…Nothing."

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"…So you're really doing this, huh?"

For only twenty more minutes, Yagami Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder and smiled as her oldest brother wandered in, his arms crossed as he cocked a brow at her.

"Of course" she said brightly, turning around in her dress.

Jyun smiled faintly and pet back a curled lock of her updo, "Of course."

She pet his hand and pouted, "It won't be that much different."

"No, except you'll be married" he laughed airily before sighing, "You'll enjoy it though…it's…nice."

"I don't hear you talking her out of it."

Hoshiko smirked as Kyo stalked in, looking disgruntled. Jyun stuck out his tongue, "You wouldn't know with your fake marriage."

Kyo returned the gesture and looked her over before grumbling, "You look like such a bride…"

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment" she snickered.

"You won't forget us, will you?" he mumbled shyly.

Hoshiko laughed, lifting the ends of her dress and walking over to him, kissing his cheek, "Baka, I'm not moving to the other side of the Earth, I'm still here."

He pinked and Jyun chuckled, kissing her forehead, "We just love you, babe, and it's weirding us out because the baby sister we knew definitely was not getting married."

"I've grown, I'd like to think" she smiled softly, "I was…scared of things I didn't know about."

"Sex?" growled Kyo.

"Idiot! Love" she smacked his arm.

"Oh yea…"

"I can understand that" Jyun agreed.

Jyun hugged her side, giving it a squeeze, "But hey, after your honeymoon, I have some business to speak with you."

Hoshiko tilted her head, "What?"

"It's your wedding and we're not talking business now" he laughed, "After."

"All right…" she pouted, curious.

The door suddenly opened, "Oi, you two, beat it."

Hoshiko smiled at her father who crossed his arms, "Unless you two aren't bothering her."

"We're chatting" Kyo insisted.

Hoshiko nodded, affirming this, and Nelly snorted, "That's a first."

Roomi entered and scowled, "All three of you, shoo! I have to fix her make-up!"

They all scurried by the little women's command and Hoshiko laughed. Sillies. But Roomi had her sit, smoothing out her tone with some foundation and putting on some faint natural make up.

"Roo…what did you do to make Jyun happy about our mother not coming?" Hoshiko asked as the woman smoothed on eye shadow.

She didn't know but she just knew her mother wasn't going to come. And it hurt. Bad. She wished she could just be angry like Julius was at his aunt. However, with her mother, she just felt…sad.

"I didn't really do anything, actually" Roomi admitted, smoothing gloss on her lips next, "He just seemed to forget it. I guess he thought he was creating something new, that he didn't need his mother who did a 180 on him…I think it's sad because they were so close but…it gets him through. I'd hate for that to depress him because I can't do anything."

Hoshiko nodded numbly and Roomi suddenly gasped, "Oh no, you tried to invite her, didn't you?"

"…She is my mother, Roo…"

"I understand, sweetie" she cooed, smoothing her hair, "But you know what? Your mother is just going to miss all the great things that are going to happen with you and Julius. And he's going to become one of the most important people to you and none of the issues with whatever is going on with your mom will take that from you."

Hoshiko bit her lip, tearing up, but nodded rapidly. Roomi pursed her lips, "Hey, don't mess up my make up job _yet_ , young lady."

"O-okay" she laughed, sighing, "I'm…I'm getting married."

"Of course! Now c'mon, you have a job to do…"

Hoshiko stood and smiled, grabbing the ends of her dress, following Roomi. When she peeked out and looked down the aisle, seeing Julius awkwardly stand at the end in his Armani tuxedo and her mother nowhere in sight, it stung.

But Roomi was right. She was starting a new life.

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(x) "Stanky something" equals a weird ass dance called the 'stanky leg'. Pretty…hip hoppy but I watched this music video and for some reason I suddenly saw teenage Jyun and Carrie doing the dance in my head and it was pretty…something they'd do XD


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 **Author's Note:** Eh, though I usually just say a nice 'happy reading' with the epilogue, I got some good questions in reviews that I want to attend to.

Thanks for reading! Indeed, you're correct, I did mix up something, but it's not with Austria, it's with the material itself o.o I got a little confused because I know there is SOMETHING Austrian that is popular and we even have one here so I just wrote diamonds because I couldn't remember what…then I recalled with your review that it's **crystal** that I was thinking of (right?) with the Swarovski. I guess I tied in diamonds because I notice that a lot of their pieces have diamonds or some kind of jewel. So yea, that will be edited when I redo the series.

As this marks the end of the 7th story, it's probably a good a time as any to do a little refresher course on everything.

The chronological order of the series goes:

 **Step Towards the Future (STtF)**

 **Yuki**

 **Lay With Me**

 **Sacrifice of Angels + Leave Out All The Rest** (crossover fics of sorts where you can read them interchangeably)

 **This Love + Jewel In the Rough + Lessons In Life** (crossover fics of sorts where you can read them interchangeably; However, the order they appear is my suggested order)

And YEA, I _was_ working on a family tree but it was time consuming by the time I tried to throw in pictures (maybe I'll work on it after I finish my Literature homework tonight…) but…here's as condensed as I could possibly make it tree.

 **Yagami Dana + Yamada's kids:**

 **Shin x Lyla (Save the Homeland)**

-Hotaru (Only mentioned child; married to Joe, Kurt's brother)

 **Koji x Popuri (…A lot)**

-Keiji x Celia (A Wonderful Life, DS)

 _-Iori_

 _-Lara_

-Kaede x Steiner (DS Cute)

 _-Sachiko_

 _-Skye_

 _-Felicie_

-Rosa

-Miru

 **Nerimaru (Nelly) x Elli (Ex-wife ((Also a lot of games))**

-Jyun x Roomi (Tree of Tranquility, Animal March)

 _-Fujiwako_

 _-Kamon_

-Kyo

-Hoshiko x Julius (Tree of Tranquility, Animal March)

 **Tony x Karen (A LOT too…and kind of will have to be a short story coupling)**

 **(Izumi) Jill x Cliff (Many many series…)**

-Jilliana x Azuma (Alex from Magical Melody)

 _-Tsumaru_

-Carrie x Kurt (Save the Homeland, Sugar Village, Magical Melody)

 _-Hayato_

 _-Emma_

-Takeru

 **Shaun x Anne (SNES, Magical Melody)**

Others have children, just haven't been mentioned in story…nor have they in forever x.x

Ah well, happy reading XD

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"I'm home!"

"… _Eh?"_

 _Yagami Jyun sat at a desk surrounded with boxes and people working on bringing furniture in, appearing serious, "I offered Hoshiko a job at the new company. She wants to after she finishes her current stint but she informed me that you weren't content with your job at the moment?"_

 _Shimizu Julius frowned thoughtfully, "I, uh, can't stand it, actually…but since I need to help support us, I can't really quit."_

" _Oh, naturally" Jyun agreed, doing a quick turn in his chair, "A man has to take care of his family."_

 _Stopping straight on though, he folded his fingers, "However, I was thinking. Would you want to come on as one of the management of my design area?"_

 _Julius eyes widened as Jyun continued, "You will have creative projects, don't think I'm just asking you to watch a bunch of other people create. But I want you to control the area, do quality control, manage the craziness, design projects, get fashion lines off the ground. You know, all that fun…junk."_

" _Why…I don't know" he said, shifting awkwardly, "That's a lot of responsibility."_

" _But it'd be fun."_

"… _Definitely" Julius agreed, considering at his current job he was promoting toothpaste, "Just…I don't know how I'd feel being paid by my brother-in-law…"_

" _If I'm nothing else, I'm serious about my work, Julius. I'm not going to permit anything but a hundred percent. You're just as expendable as the next person though it'd hurt me to do any such thing" he said solemnly, "Just I don't really get the idea I would have to."_

" _Oh no" he said quickly, "Just…seems odd. But it's quite the proposal."_

 _Julius stood and bit his lip, "Let me simmer over it a bit. I mean, I still feel like my creativity is running a little dry."_

" _Oh, no problem" Jyun waved a hand, "We're still building, you have time."_

Psh, he called back the next day and was like 'hells yea!'.

He closed his eyes, smiling, as he unsnapped his buckle boots. When they got back from their honeymoon, he looked for a bigger house for them, one closer to her family.

Ultimately they were 'close' but not in that rather close ring the others seemed to have. It was about a fifteen minute drive. Hoshiko joked that once upon a time, they couldn't drive, they'd have to walk. Boy, he loved progress. She claimed they were just paving nature except they could pretty much walk out of their modern contemporary home and see corn fields in their backyard. There were mountains like three miles away and forests everywhere. Considering other cities, it looked like Mineral took their share and left some too.

So a new house. What else was new?

"Daddy!"

Julius grinned as his three-year-old ran towards him happily with his one-year-old toddling behind as fast as she could. He knelt, outstretching his arms to both of them, and caught them both, standing, kissing them lovingly.

"How's my puffins?" he cooed.

"Good, daddy!" the both echoed.

He adoringly called his daughters 'puffin one' and 'puffin two'...which would have been better if they'd been twins but he wasn't picky.

Maybe about a year and a half after he and Hoshiko were married, Hoshiko started doing the whole vomiting and eating everything in sight thing. She'd been a bit shocked when she found out she was pregnant. And boy, her brother's nearly killed him literally that time, there was actual chasing going on.

Yea, and when it happened again two years later, not much had changed. Except it kind of cushioned the blow, their first daughter. Kaori was just so darn cute, no one could deny it…

Walking towards the living room, he frowned, "Where's mama?"

"She's on the couch" Kaori informed him.

"Pwuffin twee! Pwuffin twee!" exclaimed his button puffin, Miyako.

He blinked at her, "Puffin three? Silly, you're puffin _two_."

Miyako's red eyes narrowed, pouting and puffing her cheeks, "Pwuffin _twee_!

Cocking a brow, he set them down when he reached the living room, finding his wife stretched out on the couch, her eyes closed. Her hair was grown out again, something he greatly enjoyed and she was wearing a cute sundress. Sitting beside her, he suddenly felt anxious.

"Kitten?"

The woman opened her dark brown eyes and gave him a weird smile, "You remember when we had relations and you thought it'd be okay if we went without…protection?"

His eyes shifted nervously as he nodded. She gave him a look, "Puffin three."

"Aww, sweetie, I'm sorry" he whined, "I didn't think-"

"No" she said sweetly, "No, you didn't."

Julius grimaced as she stood, her arms crossed, "This is the last baby, okay? I'm totally getting my tubes tied after this."

"…Okay" he agreed with a sigh.

"I've netted more babies than all my cousins in a shorter amount of time" she groaned.

"Netting babies, eh?" he snorted, grasping her waist and kissing her cheek, "Don't be so angry about it. Our children are blessings."

Hoshiko was silent before stroking his hand, "…I know. It's just a little overwhelming."

"Know what I find interesting? Our kids will roughly follow the same age theme that your family followed" he stroked his chin.

Hoshiko blinked before glancing at their girls and laughing softly, "Oh wow, you're right. And it'd be pretty funny if this one was a boy."

"Boys are icky" Kaori's nose wrinkled.

Julius sighed, "I'm inclined to agree."

Hoshiko pouted, "I want a little boy!"

Julius chuckled, hugging her, "I'll be happy with whatever we have, bunny."

Hoshiko sighed and looked up when the doorbell rang. Julius sat her down, smoothing back her hair, kissing her forehead.

"Don't fret, you're too cute for that."

She smirked after him as he went to answer the door, Miyako at his feet. A cold shiver went down his spine as Yagami Jyun was on the other side staring at him, rather unreadable.

"So you knocked up my baby sister again, huh?"

Julius grinned nervously, "…Maybe?"

Jyun opened his mouth either to yell and threaten before trying to throttle him or say he was going to throttle him then yell the threats while doing so. Miyako giggled, grasping his lower leg, gazing up at him cutely.

"Uncah Jyun!"

Jyun stared down at her silently for a moment and Julius barely could manage to blink in fear. But Jyun finally said:

"It should be illegal how cute you are."

Miyako giggled again as he swooped her up, kissing her sweetly, before glaring at Julius, "I'll let it fly this time, you, but you keep making babies with my sister and I'll rip off your balls myself."

"Well noted."

With Jyun always came his secret younger sister, Yagami Roomi. The little woman pushed in, Fujiwako at six wandering in behind her in her kindergarten uniform and Kamon at four just looking so chill and intense. He looked way too cool to be only four, jeez…

"Hey, Uncle Julius" they both greeted.

"What's happening, Flamingo, Penguin?" Kamon was Penguin.

Hoshiko sat up more, smiling as they all entered the room and smiling a little wider at Jyun who was snuggling with Miyako, cooing things to her.

"I miss my babies…" Jyun pouted.

"No, you don't" Roomi responded simply.

Jyun smirked at her, "Thanks for setting me straight, wife."

Hoshiko laughed, "It's okay, Miyako's here for you."

Sitting down on the couch, Roomi giggled, rubbing Hoshiko's belly, "I bet it's a boy."

"She's probably like two days pregnant, midget, how can you tell?" snorted Julius, wandering into the kitchen.

"Hey, I've called the last two as well!"

Kamon cocked a brow at Kaori who glared at him with her arms crossed, "Icky."

Kamon just rolled his eyes and settled next to Hoshiko, something Kaori didn't seem to appreciate, "That's _my_ mama, baka!"

"Kaori" scolded Hoshiko, "Stop being mean to your cousin for no reason!"

Jyun smirked, "It's just us in a more distorted family rendition, Hosh, and if you recall those times, there never needs to be a reason."

Hoshiko smirked back, "I'd rather that past just die."

Kamon just looked disgruntled and started to move but Hoshiko scowled, holding him in her lap, "You're fine, sweetie, ignore Kaori."

This just seemed to upset her more but leave it to Jyun. Patting his lap, he called, "Hey, you always spend time with your mama. Come hang out with me, I've got the candy."

Kaori's attention was thoroughly caught and she pranced over to him, getting rewarded with some Skittles. Roomi sucked her cheek, "That's kind of sketch, baby."

"Oh yea, you know it. 'Hey little girl, you want some candy…?'" he said in a creepy voice.

Roomi snickered, kicking him, and Hoshiko laughed, shaking her head, "Baka."

"Heard from Kyo or Gwen lately?" questioned Jyun.

"Mm, no, I think they're in a bad area" Hoshiko sighed, "I really worry about them."

"Eh, he'll be fine, at least. What's the saying? 'Idiots don't die'?"

She giggled, smacking him playfully, "You'd know!"

Julius returned with some tea and juice, handing around cups before sitting on the recliner, Kaori relocating to his lap. Kissing her forehead, Julius sighed, "So to what do we owe this visit?"

"Well, one, you knocked Hoshiko up _again_ and two, honey, someone needs to teach you how to make tea" Roomi remarked, her brow raising as she sipped.

He stuck out his tongue, "It's decaf."

"Hey, we're not pregnant."

"I didn't even have to make you tea, this is my house."

"Keep your sucky tea then!"

Jyun smirked, "You two fight like crazy for no reason. Are you _sure_ you're not related?"

Roomi snorted, "Yes."

Julius just smiled faintly. "Sure."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _I hate her, I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!"_

Yagami Roomi smiled darkly as she set her fine tea set on the table, in utter and absolute disbelief at the people that were seated in her house: her grandmother, her sister…

And her parents.

She hadn't seen them in nearly eight years and they showed up as if it were nothing. Her mother, Ayako, was still young looking, her blue hair stylishly cut, something she'd expect from a hair dresser. Her father, with his purple hair and manicured mustache, stared around the home rather absently.

"A little more…rustic than I expected you with" he said in his smooth baritone voice.

"I love my house" Roomi remarked stiffly, "It's got a nice view of the river in the back."

River wasn't impressive, apparently, as the man just drank his tea apathetically. Well, a beach house would be silly for when it was cold! Maybe cool at some points but silly!

Not able to stand this silencefest, she tapped her toe, "So…to what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

Ayako shrugged, "Can't we come see our daughter?"

"No, it seems that you can't" she remarked coolly.

"Roomi" scowled Kotomi.

Roomi glared at her sister, "Don't even! They missed our freakin' weddings!"

"We're busy people, Roomi" remarked her father reasonably.

She bit her lower lip and rolled her eyes around, "Fine. But I know you. You're not here because you just found time."

Roomi glared at her meddling grandmother, "So what did you tell them to get them here?"

The old woman, her father's mother naturally, that had gotten in her way and pretty much caused her and Jyun a lot of grief, sniffed, "I told them about that nice bruise you had on your leg and face."

Roomi could have groaned. That bitch told them her husband was beating her.

…Well, Jyun and she had dropped the kids off with some relatives for a little past due alone time. And the two were already really, really frisky and sex-starved. Hell, they were like ravenous animals. They just slightly overestimated how much bed they had, sending them whirling to the floor. Jyun had bruised his arm too, protecting her head from hitting the hardwood floor. She loved her sweetie.

The bruise on her face, however, was from attempting to teach Fujiwako how to throw a baseball. Didn't go so well if the bruise was any evidence.

"Fukiwako hit me with a baseball. My husband did not do that to me" she glared heatedly.

The old woman snorted and her father just said: "We'd like to meet him, nevertheless."

"And our grandchildren" her mother added so painfully plainly.

"He's out shopping with them now. He should be home soon" Roomi said with a sigh.

Ayako nodded simply and glanced at Kotomi, "And where is your husband?"

"Oh, um, he's away on business" smiled Kotomi quickly.

"As a proper man should be, working to support his family" stated her grandmother in clear contempt of Jyun.

Roomi didn't even bother but surprisingly Kotomi cleared her throat to his defense. "Jyun does work two jobs, grandmother, he's not slacking off either."

"Two jobs?" echoed Roomi's father, "Does he make that little?"

Roomi snorted, slightly offended, "Um, no, father, we're not scraping by. Jyun and I own a company called _Ai_ and he does Kotomi's photography for _Kikanki_ as well. He's just very enthused about his work."

He raised an eyebrow, "You own a business? Why was I not informed?"

Roomi just shrugged and Ayako played with a strand of her hair, "I think I've heard of Ai. It's a magazine slash clothes line associated with Yagada, correct?"

Roomi nodded proudly and her father crossed his arms, "And how did you get associated with Yagada?"

"Oh, Yagada is Jyun's grandma, Yagami Dana."

Her parents glanced at each other and Ayako cleared her throat, "So you've married into a decently rich family?"

She rolled her eyes, "Does it matter?"

"No, just interesting."

"I prefer self-made worth" her father said without missing a beat.

"Ugh! Stop it! Jyun doesn't use his family's wealth!" snapped Roomi, "My husband works hard for everything and I won't let you insult him!"

"Roomi, please. You still have that temper" Ayako remarked, scolding her, "We'll judge your gentleman after we meet him."

Roomi opened her mouth and paused when the door opened, "Hey Roo, I'm home!"

Roomi stood, comforted by her husband's voice alone as he entered the room, carrying bags, "I couldn't find the cond-"

He caught sight of everyone in the room but 'continued' without missing a beat, "…itioner you like."

Fighting a laugh, she wandered over to take the groceries from him, "That's okay, I'm sure I have enough left."

Her grandmother grunted and she narrowed her eyes back at the stupid bimbo. Jyun cleared his throat, "So, um…"

"Oh yea, Jyun, honey, these are my parents, Seiwa Ayako and Shirou" she introduced, "Mother, father, this is Yagami Jyun, my husband and father of my Kamon. Uh, where are the kids?"

"They'll catch up, they're talking to some friends outside" Jyun said nervously, "Uh, it's a pleasure to finally meet you though."

Shirou pretty blatantly was sizing him up but Ayako crossed her arms, "Let me see."

"Eh?" Roomi cocked a brow.

Next thing she knew, her mother was evaluating Jyun's hair. He just looked freaked out, not that she could blame him though she had to snicker. Leave it to her mother.

"Ayako, don't you think this is a tad strange?" questioned Shirou, staring at his wife.

"You have good dimension…" she observed, ignoring her husband.

"Uh, thanks, I think…"

Shirou rolled his eyes around and Roomi smiled back as Fujiwako and Kamon finally wandered in. Fujiwako paused in the doorway, Kamon hiding behind her with a raised brow, and stared into the room. Roomi waved them in. "Mother, father, these are my babies, Fujiwako and Kamon."

"Hello…" they both greeted quietly.

Ayako blinked at them, "My goodness, your hair's almost the exact same as your father's."

Kamon just blinked and Roomi smirked, "Mother, is hair really going to be your prime focus here?"

"Roomi" her father suddenly said, "Why don't you and the women go and do something elsewhere?"

Roomi gave him a 'go to hell' look but Jyun just waved her off, "It's fine."

She looked at him solemnly before nodding shortly, sending her father a dark glare before taking all the women to the kitchen to cook. Shirou glanced at Kamon who was still standing around.

"…Aren't you going to follow your mother?"

Kamon, smooth as silk, responded: "You said the women. I'm not a woman."

Jyun cleared his throat, "Why don't you go and play in your room for a bit, buddy? I'll come up and get you in a second."

Kamon gave him a look too like he didn't trust this man's tone and Jyun smoothed his hair, kissing his forehead, "Go on."

Reluctantly, the young child wandered away and Jyun crossed his arms, staring at him firmly. Shirou gave him a serious look.

"So you're a photographer, Yagami-san?"

"Yes, sir."

"And that's a lucrative job?"

Jyun nodded shortly, "I've been doing it since right out of college. I've gained a lot of experience. I'm not trying to be arrogant but I'm not exactly an amateur."

Shirou eyes narrowed but he nodded, "I suppose."

There was a knock at the door and Jyun sighed, excusing himself, to answer.

"Hey, can you watch Miyako and Kaori for a couple minutes? I have to take Hoshiko to the doctor…"

Jyun's brows furrowed, "She's okay, right?"

"Yea, she's just cramping more than usual, I just want-"

When he came further into the living room, the man flat out froze, his skin actually blanching as he caught sight of the visitor. The man himself seemed rather floored and Jyun was…confused.

"Oh, uh, do you know Roomi's dad?"

"…Um, uh…"

"We're acquainted" Shirou said rather flatly, "How do you know Shimizu-san?"

"He's my brother-in-law."

"…Is that right?"

Julius swallowed and Jyun was just puzzled but shook it off, "Yea, leave the girls here. I can watch them." 

"N-no, you're busy" he smiled quickly.

"Never too busy for you to take care of my baby sister" Jyun said dryly, "Go on. Come here, button."

Miyako, who definitely appeared sleepy, reached for him and he took her and Kaori from him whom was already asleep. Waving the man off who just looked strangely horrified, he set them on his couch and covered them with the throw. He stood up straight and glanced to Shirou who was glaring rather menacingly at him. Jyun wasn't intimidated.

"Did I do something to trouble you, Seiwa-san?"

The man just continued his fiery gaze before stomping off into the kitchen. Jyun cocked a brow. What?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roomi rubbed her arms as she stood outside with her father and sister. What was this? What was going on?

"Can we have whatever this little heart to heart is _inside_? It's freezing!" growled Roomi.

Shirou didn't remark but said as clear as day: "You will leave your husband."

"F-k you" Roomi said in the same tone without missing a step.

Kotomi grimaced, probably not able to fathom that level of disrespect, "J-just hear father out, Roo!"

"Oh damn it, Koto, why the hell are you so brainwashed?" growled Roomi angrily, "Why the f—k should I leave my husband because he's probably found some minuscule problem with him? And why should I care!? He's _my_ husband. _My husband_ and I love him. So _f-k_ you. I don't even know why you bothered to even call me out here for this!"

"This is not a request, Roomi, it's an order" Shirou said simply.

"And where did you get the idea that you can order me around? I haven't seen you in a decade, I've lived my life without you so I don't need you now" she said, growing angrier.

Shirou wasn't listening. "I called Wilshire and gotten the lawyers to write up the papers."

"Okay, we're done. That's it, we're through. I don't know who you are."

"You will sign them."

"You will get out of my house."

"I'm prepared to buy you a comfortable home."

"Kiss my ass."

Shirou, getting irritated, grabbed her arm, "You will _not_ disobey me in this, Roomi, you will _not_ disgrace me!"

"Let go of me!" hissed Roomi, "Why do you insist on ruining my life? Why can't you stand that I'm happy?! What's this even about?! I bet Jyun didn't do anything to you! Why are you trying to break us up?!"

He opened his mouth but was startled when arms tugged Roomi away. Roomi frowned, expecting her husband. But looking up, she was shocked to find Julius.

"Me."

Roomi's brows creased and Shirou suddenly gritted his teeth. It was probably the first time she saw her father falter.

"…I can destroy you."

Roomi's eyes widened, appalled. "Why are you talking to my brother-in-law like that? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Get away from her!" Shirou snapped.

"No! Where do you get off? Do you think you can just control everything like this? Do you think you can rearrange all the pieces that threaten to make you look bad like it's all about you? How dare you ask your daughter to leave her husband because of _me_?!" hissed Julius, his face actually red with fury.

Roomi shivered, shocked, and looked to her father who just was clenching his teeth, Kotomi looking nervous. Roomi wheeled around, facing Julius. He knew something. What was going on? Why was _she_ out of the loop?

"Julius…?"

"Roomi-"

"Don't you dare! I'll make your life a living hell!" Shirou bellowed.

"Screw you. I never needed you and if you think you can 'destroy me', give it up. You've already destroyed most of my life as it is. Do your best to do more" said Julius icily.

Shirou actually gaped. Julius pursed his lips and gazed at Roomi slowly, "Roomi, they didn't want to tell you. I don't know why but everyone seems to know. Your sister actually came in to my office once to shut me up. She told me to stay away from you."

Kotomi grimaced and Roomi glanced back at her, her brow dropping, "…Why?"

"Your dad, he's…" he stopped, swallowing, his heart racing, "…He's my dad too."

Roomi's eyes widened and she gaped as he grimaced, "He-my mom, was his secretary, they…they had an affair. We…we were born really close to each other."

"N-no…" she rasped.

"Roomi…" Kotomi whispered.

The small woman wheeled around and gave them both a look hotter than any pit in hell, "So I couldn't have handled to know this, huh? Or wait, wait, you couldn't let me know because I'd tell someone right? Well, you're damn right I would. But…"

She swallowed, "You…what did you do? Did you pay his family off to keep him quiet? How…how could you?"

Shirou was just silent and Roomi screamed, "Answer me! Why? How could you treat your child like that? Because you couldn't keep it in your pants you're just going to treat him like some bill payment?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Julius was a little startled. He thought she'd be angry that no one told her. But…

"And you!"

He jumped when she turned, poking him in the chest, "You! How dare you listen to their dumb ass threats!? You should have told me right away!"

"I…"

"…It's mama, isn't it?"

Shirou's gaze suddenly dropped, the first time they'd probably seen a genuinely concerned expression, "She'd…never forgive me. And my company-"

Ah, but for all the wrong reasons. "F—k your company" snarled Roomi, grabbing Julius' hand and walking back towards the house, "You don't care about mama at all. You can put on any pitiful face you want but it's all about your standings at work. Too bad, bastard."

"Roomi!"

Waltzing into her house, she opened her mouth but had to falter. " _Mom_! What the hell are you doing?!"

Jyun just sat there, wide-eyed, as the woman expertly _cut_ his hair, "Don't worry. He informed me you like the length so I'm just layering it a bit."

Roomi sulked but recalled her duty in the face of losing her husband's luxurious hair. "Mama, I have something to tell you."

The woman regarded her with a look for a moment, "I'm listening."

Her grandmother sat at the table, glaring at all this, looked to her also. Roomi growled, "This is Julius, dad's son."

" _What_?" Jyun exclaimed.

Ayako paused and looked at Julius who smiled nervously. Man, this was bad. She stared at him for a long moment before remarking: "Your shade of purple hair is off."

…

"Mother" grunted Roomi.

"My mother also had purple hair that was this shade" he mumbled.

Ayako stopped cutting Jyun's hair, putting down the scissors, and walked towards him, staring him over, "…Mizuki, correct?"

Julius' eyes widened and Roomi echoed, "Mizuki?"

"…You knew" Julius whispered.

"Men have a thing for secretaries. Wouldn't you say so, Jyun?"

Jyun just grinned anxiously, "…Sure."

"Th-this is preposterous! How dare you claim my son did any such thing?!" yelled Roomi's grandmother.

Ayako rubbed her brow, "I knew about the affair. I just thought it was best not to mention it. We were having a rough time in the marriage, I wasn't going to fret because he wanted to get back at me. Just I had no idea it created a child."

Julius frowned and bowed his head, "I apologize…"

"For what?" the woman demanded, "I don't see how any of this is your fault. That's just like Shirou though, turning your existence into a national secret or something ridiculous! It wasn't necessary, he always turns things into bigger than what they are."

"Well mama, I'd admittedly be a little mad if Jyun turned up with another child" Roomi admitted.

"Of course I'm mad" the woman snorted, "But hiding it from me? For this long? But enough of that. What's your name again?"

"J-Julius. Shimizu Julius."

"If my husband's caused you any despair on his behalf or mine, _I_ sincerely apologize. It's his ludicrous dominant nature. He thinks everything is fragile" she rolled her eyes.

"…It's all right" he whispered.

"No…I can see in your eyes it's not" she smiled gingerly, "I'm sorry."

Shirou slowly walked in, Kotomi following, and Roomi glared at both of them, "So guess what? The world's still in one piece!"

"…You really had an affair, Shirou?" snarled his mother, "Didn't I teach you better than that?"

"…Yes."

He glanced at his wife, "Ayako-"

"Save it" she waved a hand, "Let's take some time apart. I don't want a divorce, I just don't want to see you for a while."

Everyone's eyes widened except Shirou's, "…Fair enough."

The purple haired woman came over and poked him in the chest, "And one last thing: you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Your _company_ , your _job,_ your _reputation_? It should mean _nothing_ compared to your children."

"Look who's talking! You haven't seen our daughters in as long as I have!"

"And it's unforgivable" she said without missing a beat.

Roomi looked startled as the woman turned to her, "I didn't know what to do with you. I was so used to everything being so planned and perfect and set up. It worked out with Kotomi but with you, I…I was selfish. I had dreams, plans, and having a baby at that moment didn't fit into them. It wasn't fair to you and I'm sorry, Roomi. You didn't hear it at all growing up but I do care about and love you. Both of you. And I wish I'd been a better mother."

Roomi just stared before remarking, "It's…cool."

"I bet just a moment ago you were trying to get our children away from what you presume is your mistake" Ayako commented, turning back to Shirou, "And you will stop it. We've spent so much time turning our jobs into the most important things in our lives we've let our children grow up before our eyes. We have _grandchildren_. Those babies sleeping on the couch, those are yours, Julius?"

"Yes, ma'am…"

"You look at them, Shirou, and if all you can see is a mistake when you see them and your only son then you're more of a monster than I ever imagined."

Shirou recoiled and she sighed, "Now, I was doing something."

She continued doing Jyun's hair as if it were nothing and pretty much forced Julius to allow her to do something with his too. Roomi peeked into the living room and sighed, finding her father staring at Kaori and Miyako intensely. She knew he just couldn't.

…Julius, someone she'd addressed as anything from 'hooker with a penis' to 'tranny'…was her brother.

…Her not-so-baka husband had been right, huh?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"…Woah, when'd you get that done?"

Julius smiled timidly as he set the girls down on their feet to go play, messing with the nape of his neck and now missing hair, "…I feel a little naked without the ponytail."

The woman had hacked it off, saying it was thinning. Which it kind of was, he'd admit. She'd chopped it to about around mid-neck, his bangs pushed over to the side. He kind of liked it though it was weird.

Hoshiko, six months pregnant already, waddled over to him and hugged his neck, cooing, "I like it! It's very sexy on you."

"Glad to hear it" he sighed heavily.

She frowned, kissing his lips softly, "What's wrong?"

"…Roomi found out today. I…I told her."

His wife's brown eyes widened as he wandered towards the kitchen, going to start dinner for his family. He wasn't particularly hungry.

"…Why? Why after all this time?" she asked softly.

"…I don't know" he groaned, "She-I mean-'our' father saw me and Jyun was like, 'oh yea, he's my brother-in-law' and when I returned to get the girls, her dad was practically forcing Roomi to divorce him. It was…it was _nuts._ I don't see where he got off. I just couldn't stand it."

Hoshiko grimaced and hugged him tightly, "I'm proud of you but…what happened? How did Roo handle it?"

"Well, she was surprisingly rather angry on my behalf. I was stunned. And admittedly I can see why they didn't tell her. In less than five minutes after finding out, she went and told her mother about me and thus came my new haircut."

"…She found out about her husband's love child and gave you a haircut?"

"She was a strange, strange lady, I have to say."

"This is good though! You…you don't have to hide anymore" she smiled, closing her eyes, "You have family."

"…I suppose" he said with a sigh, "It's bizarre, Hoshiko…"

She opened her mouth but paused, startled, and looked down before smiling, pinking a little, "It's kicking."

Julius' brow furrowed before he 'oh'd' and gave a small grin, rubbing her belly, "…Silly Hoshi."

She glanced at him questioningly and he chuckled, "My family's right here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daddy's home!"

Shimizu Julius absently ran his fingers through his hair, something that was almost like a random habit now that his hair was shorter and staying that way. He had no idea how time-consuming washing his hair was until he got out twenty minutes earlier from his daily shower.

He grinned. Like clockwork, Kaori ran up, then Miyako…

And then Akira.

Shimizu Akira was light on his feet, stumbling every few steps. The little guy was currently a man of few words. The girls got his hair color and eyes but Akira was the living image of his mother, a pretty little thing. Julius chuckled as the girls jumped into his arms…but scowled when they shoved their little brother away.

"Oi! Don't be mean to Akira" he scolded.

"He's icky!"

"Yea!"

Akira just looked sad, knowing they were being mean to him, and Julius couldn't stand that. Hoshiko said she wasn't quite sure _how_ her parents put up with it, she really wished she'd paid more attention…

"It's cool, Akira, you don't want to hang with a bunch of dumb girls anyway."

Julius looked up to the now five-year-old Kamon who Akira toddled to, hugging his leg, like the brother the boy would never have. Kaori glared heatedly at Kamon.

" _We're_ not dumb!"

"Yea!"

Kamon snorted, "You're being mean to your little brother for no reason. That goes under my definition of 'dumb'."

"And who asked you?!" Kaori demanded.

"Kaori" scowled Julius, picking her up, "I think you need a timeout…"

" _Daddy_! Kamon should get one too! He called me dumb!"

"Well, I'm not Kamon's daddy, now am I?"

Kaori kicked at the wall and whatever else as she stood in the corner. Kamon actually put _himself_ in timeout, not that anything he necessarily said was untrue except the girls being dumb…except it was true about the treating their brother like that being dumb. Ugh. Julius sulked as Yagami Roomi walked into the room from the kitchen. "Why are your kids so much more well-behaved than mine?!"

"Got me" snickered Roomi.

He glanced to Miyako who pretty much contradicted her rather clone like responses with her sister and was now playing with Akira. She was just at that impressionable age, he assumed with a smile. She was his sweetie.

"Oh yea, so happy birthday" he said awkwardly, reaching into his pocket and handing Roomi a present.

"Thanks, dude."

He smirked at her as she opened it, surprised, "Oh! This is from the new line!"

"I remember you said you liked them the most…"

Roomi put in the amethyst dangly earrings and went over to the mirror they had hanging and cooed, "They're so gorgeous. I know they'll sell like crazy."

He nodded proudly before clearing his throat, "Are your parents okay? I never really bothered to ask after what happened…"

"Oh yea, my mom wants you to have a follow up appointment for your hair. And they might divorce, who knows?" she shrugged.

"That's awful!" he gawked.

"It was a long time coming."

Julius didn't like it though, he didn't want to be the catalyst for their divorce. But…

Roomi blinked as Miyako searched through her purse and Julius groaned. " _Miyako_ , you don't go through other people's things!"

Miyako pouted at him and Roomi laughed, "You just have free spirited children. Come here, sweetie, what can Auntie Roo help you find?"

"Make-up!"

"Aww, but you're already pretty, you don't need make-up" Roomi cooed.

"Pwetty?"

"Beautiful" Julius amended, kissing his baby girl's forehead.

"I wather be pwetty."

Roomi laughed again, "You're so cute. Beautiful is better though."

"Long word" her nose wrinkled.

Julius laughed at that and picked her up, kissing her, "We'll stick with pretty then."

Akira toddled over, reaching up and giving him a petulant look. Roomi propped her hands on her hips. "Pay attention to your other baby too."

"I dunno…" Julius closed an eye, staring at Akira.

Akira just looked depressed and Julius hid a grimace, handing Miyako to Roomi and swooping up his only son, "I'm _kidding_ , silly boy. You know I love my third puffin too."

"Puffin" he gurgled.

"Yea, my boy puffin" he cooed, kissing his forehead.

Roomi chuckled, shaking her head, "You have a weird naming system there."

He grinned and took Miyako back into his free arm, "Hey, you can't get any cuter than boy puffin and button puffin."

"I'll stick with Kamon" she grinned back, hugging her son to her side.

"Hey, he is Penguin."

Roomi snickered, "I am not calling my baby a flightless bird."

"An intensely _cool_ flightless bird that's always dressed to impress."

"Okay" she laughed.

Roomi crossed her arms and gave him a look, "Julius…if…if my dad never caught wind of you being Jyun's sister's husband, would you have ever told me?"

Julius stared at her for a moment before smiling, "…No."

She looked irritated, "Why not?"

"…Because" he sighed, "I was afraid. And…and the idea is weird, eh?"

Roomi went silent before sighing as well, "…I suppose. It's odd that in a year, we haven't really talked about it, that we've just gone on like nothing's any different."

"As we should" he said seriously, "…Nothing's really changed, y'know? Except…you knowing. I knew and just…went with it. Nothing has to be any different than before."

Roomi seemed to reflect before awkwardly hugging him, "Thanks for the birthday present."

He blinked as she collected her children and smiled, "…As far as family goes, I think we created our own new ones. But it's kind of cool that I can add on to the original one."

His eyes widened before he nodded and laughed with a sigh, "Honestly, my original one kind of sucked…"

"Same here" she snickered, "It's okay though."

He walked her out, waving at his niece and nephew as they climbed into Roomi's car.

…Yea, it was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shimizu Hoshiko walked into her home, not as boisterous as her husband usually was, announcing his presence loudly so the girls could run to greet him. Which was cute, she thought with a smile, just not that necessary in her case.

Sure enough, Akira and Miyako appeared on the scene to greet her and she gave them both a kiss. Her babies. Her children.

…What had happened to her?

She cocked a brow as Kaori hadn't shown up. Walking in, she found the girl crankily sitting in the corner, Julius sitting on the couch kind of cutting his eyes at her. Hoshiko's other brow rose as she leaned over to kiss her husband.

"Mm, welcome home, kitten" he murmured.

"Hey. What's going on?" she questioned, glancing at their oldest daughter.

"…I don't know, really, she's just being very angry and actually mouthed off in the middle of the store. It was kind of embarrassing" he mumbled, "I don't want to be one of those parents that let their kids run wild."

Truth be told, Hoshiko had indeed noticed that her oldest child at only four was pretty aggressive and she didn't even really understand why. She certainly wasn't being the 'Jyun' in this sibling trio.

"And she even hit Akira hard on the head" he grumbled, "I don't know what to do with her so I just kept her in time out until we could discuss it."

Hoshiko frowned and looked down at her only son, stroking back his straight brown hair, "Is my baby okay?"

He nodded sweetly, bless his little heart. Akira might honestly have been the 'Jyun', he just seemed to want everyone to get along in his own baby-esque way. She found it incredibly adorable when he'd try to go and do something with Kaori only to have her push him away. She was being the 'Kyo' and 'sometimes Jyun'.

Exasperated, she kissed the top of the boy's head and sent him and Miyako into the playroom. Miyako probably wasn't any of them, she pondered absently whilst planning her course of action. She did whatever made her happy which may one day be siding with Kaori against Akira while the next she'd defend Akira feverishly against Kaori. She was 'the middle child'.

Hoshiko sat beside Julius and called Kaori over. She stood, arms crossed, and wandered over to them, staring at her feet angrily. It really did suck that they had their kids so close together, Hoshiko groaned to herself. They hadn't had the chance to really figure out the quirks of one child and what was the best course of action to take with said child. It all just piled up.

"Kaori, why are you being mean to your father? And Akira?" questioned Hoshiko.

"I'm not" she responded flatly.

Julius' eyes narrowed, "Young lady, did you not scream that I was an 'idiot' because I wouldn't let you get that candy?"

"No."

"So now you're lying?"

"Julius" Hoshiko quickly interjected before asking calmly, "Honey, we just want to know why you're so upset. You know that if daddy told you 'no' on something like that, he'd make it up to you later or because it's for your own good."

"…He gave Akira candy" she mumbled.

Julius looked confused, "I did not. I gave him a gummy bear vitamin like I always do. And I already gave you yours today."

"No! You just like him more!" she stomped her foot.

Julius looked rather exasperated and Hoshiko sighed, "We love you, Miyako, and Akira all the same, honey. And you know what? Your little brother loves you too so you shouldn't be mean to him."

"I wish he'd go away. Everything was better before he came. Can't you send him back?"

Julius scratched his head, shaking it, "No, honey, it…doesn't work that way."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Look, it just doesn't. I know that Miyako and Akira kind of came and took away a lot of our attention from you but that doesn't make it right for you to treat Akira badly" Julius lectured.

"Just be a good older sister" Hoshiko nodded, "You don't always have to play with him but I bet you'd like it if you did."

Kaori's nose wrinkled and she 'hmph'd'. "Can I go to my room?"

"…Sure."

She stalked off and Julius groaned, burying his face in his hands, "The teenage years are going to suck ass with that one."

Hoshiko sighed and nodded in agreement. She jumped up when there was a knock at the door, going to answer before 'squeeing'.

"Papa! When'd you get back?"

Yagami Nelly walked into the living room, his arm around Hoshiko's waist, "Mm, a couple hours ago. Since I was in the area I thought I'd check on my baby first."

He greeted Julius before scowling, calling loudly, "Oi! Where's my grandkids?"

Miyako and Akira scurried out of the playroom, squealing loudly, "Gwanpa!"

Nelly picked them both up, settling on the couch, "Aww, my little munchkins. Where's your big sister?"

"She's a little angry right now" Julius coughed.

Nelly cocked a brow and Hoshiko slouched, "She's being mean to Akira and Julius and just seems to hate everyone. I don't know what to do, daddy."

"Well, I can't really advise you. You punks didn't get along until you were well into your twenties" the man snorted.

Julius stroked his chin, "Maybe we should just let it play out?"

"Didn't you just hear my dad? I didn't get along with my brothers until I was 24" she stuck out her tongue.

"Well, with you three, I'm not that surprised."

She kicked him and Nelly laughed with a sigh, "Sadly, it's true. Not one of you has a compatible personality."

"It's more interesting that way!"

"I wouldn't even worry about it, honey. They'll come together eventually. And Miyako hangs out with Akira, doesn't she?" he cooed, kissing his granddaughter's forehead.

She giggled and Julius smiled. Yea, at least one of them was good…

Kaori suddenly returned and squealed, "Grandpa!"

"Hey, baby girl" he greeted, accepting her into his lap as well.

Akira quickly wandered away and Nelly frowned after him before sighing, rolling his eyes around, "Kaori, you love Mr. Fuzzlesworth, right?"

Hoshiko cocked a brow and Julius blinked rapidly. What? Kaori gushed, always happy to talk about her purple teddy bear, "Yes, grandpa!"

"Well, when you're mean to your little brother, it'll make him think being mean is good. But you don't want Akira to be mean, right? He might be mean to Mr. Fuzzleworth because that's the way you treat him" Nelly nodded, .

"What?! Not Mr. Fuzzlesworth!"

"Yes, Mr. Fuzzlesworth because Akira won't know any better. That's why you should be nicer to him. You want to teach your brother good things, like not being mean to Mr. Fuzzlesworth."

"Me being mean to Akira will make him mean to Mr. Fuzzlesworth" she said rather thoughtfully.

"Possibly. Akira will think that's the right thing to do, being mean to Mr. Fuzzlesworth because you're mean to him. Understand?"

Kaori glanced at Akira who was playing with his blocks on the floor quietly and Nelly squeezed her tight, "See? He's a good little boy right now. Keep him that way."

Kaori nodded and walked over to him, replying: "I will be nice to Akira if he is nice to Mr. Fuzzlesworth."

Akira stared at her, doe-eyed, before nodding, "Kay."

"Wow there" snickered Hoshiko.

"Well, it should last until she falls out of love with that bear" smirked Julius.

Nelly stuck out his tongue as Miyako bounced on his knee, "Hey, I can't raise your kids for you."

Hoshiko laughed and stood, kissing his cheek, "I'm kidding, daddy. Thank you. I hope it works for a while."

"Just remember siblings argue. Look at me and your uncle."

"Oh yea…"

Julius laughed and smiled as Kaori did play with Akira, Miyako rushing over to join. Oh well, he loved it.

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"…You two are _way_ drunk."

Hoshiko and Jyun stared at their spouses as they spouted the dramatic operatic end of the world music in over exaggerated tones, Roomi sitting in Julius' lap as the two drank some rum.

It was New Years and everyone's kid was running around, partying. Jyun bit his finger and cocked a brow as Roomi giggled, leaping over to him next and sitting across his lap, whispering something in his ear. He smiled some and shook his head.

"You know drunken sex is only good if we're both wasted."

"Start drinking then" she cooed.

Hoshiko 'bleh'd' and Jyun snickered, "Didn't you yell at me yesterday for drinking so much?"

"Yea" she purred, kissing his jaw.

Jyun's eyes narrowed though his smirk grew, "Um, baby, family everywhere. We can get to _that_ later."

Hoshiko flustered and Julius sighed, "If only my wife were that open."

"Baka!"

"God forbid" glared Jyun.

"Maybe I should start getting mad" mused Julius, "You are making out with my little sister too…"

Jyun actually looked pretty surprised before coughing, "Well…"

Julius laughed airily, "Please, I can't be that uptight."

Jyun sulked at him and Hoshiko giggled, "Thank God."

Julius eyes widened as Akira squealed loudly, running into the room, playing with his best baby cousin friend, Yagami Kairi. He smiled incredulously as Akira getting this hyped was very out of character and stopped his son as he started to race around the table, "Got some liquor in your system too, partner?"

Hoshiko cooed, puckering her lips, "He's just excited, isn't he?"

Akira leaned back and gave her a kiss before sprinting off. Jyun chuckled, "He's a good kid."

"Yea, at least we have one good one" snorted Julius.

"Hey! All our kids are good" Hoshiko insisted, glowering at him.

Julius eyes just kind of closed half way as, if on cue, Kaori ran in after Kamon who was speed walking through, his hands plastered over his ears as she screamed bloody murder at him. Hoshiko cocked a brow and Julius said simply: "You were saying?"

She groaned, "Isn't it supposed to be the _middle_ child that has problems?"

"My button puffin is perfect."

Miyako entered at that point, her sippy cup in hand and smiled, "Grandpa give me big kid drink!"

Hoshiko slowly stared at her husband whose eyes widened before he coughed, "That's, um, great. Can, uh, daddy have a sip, baby?"

Miyako handed it to him and he smiled at her before taking a sip of… "Oh, Fanta."

"Big kid drink!"

"Definitely, baby" he chuckled, giving her the cup back as she climbed up to sit beside him.

Hoshiko giggled and Jyun tapped his chin before smiling at her, "I wouldn't worry too much about your kids until it becomes violent. They're still young."

"Perhaps…" Hoshiko remarked before grimacing as Kaori's yelling escalated, "Sorry my daughter is yelling at your son though for probably no reason."

Roomi swirled her glass, "Yea, I just hope Kamon didn't inherit either of our tempers or it'll be us apologizing soon."

Jyun smirked and nodded, playing with a strand of his bang, and Julius scowled, "Are you saying your son's going to beat up my daughter?"

"Of course not" Roomi rolled her eyes, "…Not on his own discretion."

" _What_?"

Hoshiko waved a hand, "No, no, I understand. I know he's being a lot more patient than I'd ever be…"

Julius sulked at her and Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him, " _You_ didn't have siblings or cousins growing up, Julius. Kamon is being hella patient, _believe_ me."

"Well, she's already lost Akira as a yell at option."

"She doesn't need a yell at option!"

Jyun rubbed the side of his face, looking over his shoulder at something occurring behind him. "You know what would be worse than Kamon flipping out?"

Hoshiko and Julius glanced at him and were alarmed when Kaori ran in, sobbing, throwing herself into Julius' chest. Yagami Fujiwako briefly glared in before 'hmphing', wandering away.

"Fujiwako."

"Fujiwako yelled at me papa! Sh-she said people will think I'm a bully if I keep bothering Kamon!"

Julius grimaced and absently patted her back, "Well baby, she didn't say anything that wasn't true. People will think you're a bully if you just yell at people for no reason at all."

"I don't wanna be a bully!" she cried.

"Then you can't yell at Akira _or_ Kamon. Or anyone for that matter! If you have a problem you _talk_ it out" Julius scolded.

Kaori sniveled but nodded, wiping her eyes, and walked away. Both parents sighed, Hoshiko grumbling, "Was that _that_ hard to figure out? Really?"

Jyun chuckled, "Such is being a parent. We'll be okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hoshiko, where-"

"Shh!"

Shimizu Julius' eyes widened as he walked into the room, "I was just asking where the kids…"

He droned off and smiled when he entered the room where the trio were curled up on their parent's bed, Miyako and Akira cuddling into Kaori's side…Hoshiko was lying on her side beside Akira, stroking their brows, gazing at them.

"…Julius, remember back when we met? Did…did you even fathom this would happen? That we'd get married and have _three_ kids?"

Julius cocked a brow and walked over to join them on Miyako's side, lying on his side and watching them. "Are you kidding? I didn't even think you were straight."

Hoshiko pouted and glowered at him, " _Likewise_."

He stuck out his tongue and chuckled, "It's bizarre any way we look at it, kitten. We…we definitely probably couldn't see this coming."

Hoshiko's dark eyes stayed trained on the children for a moment before raising to him, "…Are you happy with how things turned out?"

"Ecstatic" he said without missing a beat, leaning over carefully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and kissing her lovingly.

"Really…?" she murmured.

"Of course" he frowned, "Why?"

Hoshiko laughed faintly, "I just think sometimes that we had such different plans than this. I just wondered if you'd have done anything differently."

Julius stared at his babies, his… _kids_ , and his wife. He lost his aunt in a way but he gained a sister. A nutty one, but all the same.

He gazed at the kids for a moment, realizing he had his job back, his kitten, his puffins, his home, his family. All the things he lacked growing up with his mother that wanted to give him more. And no matter how he hadn't understood his mother killing herself, he sort of did. He wanted nothing but the world for his babies. He'd give them anything…

…He couldn't trust when he met Hoshiko. He didn't trust being happy, he realized, not so much that he didn't trust women. Happy. There were parts, of course, that he could have done without, that would have made life easier and made him happier sooner. But a lot of things started rough and ended perfectly. Would he have done anything differently though…?

Lying down, tugging the covers over all of them, "Silly Hoshi. I wouldn't change a thing."

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Done! I have to say on a whole, compared to Carrie x Kurt or Roomi x Jyun, these two aren't one of my favorite couples. But how Julius played out had to have been the most fun I've had with a character because it was just SO random. But overall, I enjoyed the story. I hope you did too.

Lessons in Life will now resume…it will be slow, I believe, because I truly have a whole lot of stuff to do with school…but who knows, I say that every time XD

My readers, we are now five stories and counting, including LiL… almost done XD And then you get to put up with my occasional short stories about everyone and their brother. Lol.

Eternally,

Dark Ryuu


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